English sure is a funny language.
OK, yes, I know … the title above is just plain silly.
But, it introduces the ‘a’ or ‘an’ question, which I’m sure SO many new-to-English struggle with.
As a native English speaker, I suppose it’s just become a memory-thing … you just KNOW whether to say ‘a’ or ‘an’ ahead of a certain word.
One might think it’s as easy as saying, “Well, if the next word begins with a vowel, then, it’s ‘an‘ … but if it’s a consonant, then, it’s ‘a‘.”
Well, that will cover most cases. But not all.
In fact, that rule is mostly helpful … but what is missing is: “If the SOUND of the letter that starts the next word is a vowel or a consonant . . . then . . .”.
And so, to demonstrate this: think of a word that begins with a vowel, but, actually you pronounce it with a consonant.
Huh?
Case in point: the word “one”.
That’s an “o” (see what I did there?) at the start of the word. But, you wouldn’t say or write “an one”, would you? Why not?
Because, when you pronounce the word “one” you actually use the SOUND of the consonant “w”, as in “won”. And thus, you would say or write “a one”, not “an one”.
Have I lost you yet?
I just find it interesting (no really, I find it EXCITING – but I don’t want you to worry about me) that this rule is actually so … obscure.
I mean: you have to KNOW how each LETTER sounds before you can know whether to use “a” or “an”.
But then … sometimes … letters are silent. Uh-oh!
“It’s an honour to meet you.” The silent ‘h’ means that the first letter in the word ‘honour’ is not pronounced, and thus, the NEXT letter being a vowel changes the ‘a’ to ‘an’.
Suffice to say, I think we’re all VERY proud and humbled when we meet someone who is learning English later in life – perhaps coming from a very different native-tongue.
Let’s cut them some slack and appreciate the challenges they have, and commend them for their achievements.
In closing, I just learned tonight that it’s “Snufalupagus” and not “Snufaluptagus”.
No wonder he ignored me all these years.