In the subject related to a and an, the main difference is between vowel sound and it is not define in any place?
Could any please explain me a little bit?
thank you so much
What the vowel sound is referring to is the starting sound of the word. You can think of a/an as a spoken rule rather than a rule while writing because what is important is the sound of the word.
So what do I mean exactly? Well lets just write some words down and it's important to say them out loud.
Hour
- So when we say Hour the H is silent. It sounds like our. Starting with that 'O' sound. Because it sounds like a vowel we use an. I have waited an hour.
Honor
- Same thing goes for this word. The H is silent so the O is pronounced first. It is an honor to meet you.
One
- We know we're supposed to use an for vowels but when we say this out loud it sounds like Won. It has a 'W' sound so we should use a. I have a one dollar bill.
Lie
- This one isn't tricky. Lie starts with the L sound so it's an a. I have never told a lie.
United
- Once again we have a word that starts with a vowel but when we say it out loud it sounds like Younighted. Because the 'U' has a 'Y' sound we should use a. A united army is needed to take the encampment.
Untied
- This starts with a vowel and sounds like Uhh so it definitely has the 'U' and vowel sound we're looking for. An untied shoe is going to lead to disaster.
Eagle
- And finally we have Eagle starting with a strong 'E' sound so we know it's vowel sounding. An eagle came soaring across the clouds.