This document discusses the rules for using "a" versus "an" before nouns in the English language. It states that "an" is used before words starting with a vowel sound, while "a" is used before words starting with a consonant sound, regardless of whether the word starts with a vowel or consonant letter. It provides examples of words starting with silent letters, acronyms where the first letter is not the starting sound, and exceptions with acronyms where the first letter is a vowel but the starting sound is a consonant. The main takeaway is that the choice of "a" or "an" depends on whether the word starts with a vowel or consonant sound.

1. Which do we use?
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2. is used before nouns, adjectives and acronyms
starting with a :
A trip A carton A mess
A fast car A hot meal A long walk
A NATO treaty A BBC presenter A WWE match
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3. is used before nouns, adjectives and acronyms
starting with a :
An anchor An intersection An optician
An empty glass An unkind remark An inept boss
An IPO filing An OPEC summit An ACCA credit
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4. precedes words with a silent ‘h’:
An honor
An hour
An heir
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5. is also used before acronyms starting with a
consonant but which have an initial vowel sound:
as (ĕf) in an FBI agent
as (ĕl) in an LCD TV
as (ĕm) in an MBA degree
as (ĕn) in an NGO forum
as (ār) in an RSPCA shelter
as (ĕs) in an SOS signal
as (ĕks) in an XML file
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6. is likewise used before acronyms starting with a
vowel which has a consonant sound:
as (yōō) in a UFO sighting / a U-Haul truck
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7. The use of ‘a’ or ‘an’ depends more on the initial sound of
the word or acronym than on the initial letter, so sounding
out the word helps you determine whether it starts with a
vowel sound or with a consonant sound.
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8. www.thewritersaide.net
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