A / AN / THE OR ZERO ARTICLES

INDEFINITE ARTICLE

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We always use AN before a singular noun that starts with a vowel sound.  We don't use it before an uncountable noun or plural nouns. 

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We often identify vowels as a, e, i, o, u and sometime y: 

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a - an apple, an antelope, an alligator

e - an elephant, an egg, an eclipse

i - an iguana, an iphone, an insect

o - an orange, an octopus, an oak tree

u - an umbrella, an umpire, an urge

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However, its the sound at the beginning of nouns that you need to pay attention to, it's not the letter you see at the beginning.   

 

Unfortunately most letters in the alphabet can be pronounced in different ways so if you are unsure of how a word is pronounced look on the internet for audio examples, but here are some examples:

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We use an before nouns and acronyms that have a vowel sound at the beginning, these nouns can begin with the letters f, h, l, m, r, s and x.  

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An hour (the h is silent)

An SMS (the s is pronounced ess-emm-ess). 

An M.A. (the M is prounced emm-aye)

An SOS (the S is prounounced ess-oh-ess)

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