A

The indefinite article has two forms, a / an, that are the same for all nouns.

 

a man                   a woman                            a dog                    a rucksack

 

A is used before words that start with:

• a consonant or a semivowel (w, y): a book, a girl, a car, a table, a windows , a young man
• aspirated h: a house, a horse, a hand, a hot day
• the sound /ju/: a uniform, a university, a unit, a euro, a European country

 

An is used before words that start with:

• a vowel: an apple, an egg, an onion, an umbrella, an Italian student
• mute h: an hour, an heir, an honest person

 

NB: The only words that begin with a mute h are: hour, heir, heiress, honour, honest and their derivations (hourly, honourable, honestly…).

 

B

The article a / an is used before singular countable nouns (see p. 224) to indicate:

• a thing or person amongst others (any one, not one in particular).

 

Take a chair, please.

She gave me a red rose.

 

• a person or thing that is mentioned for the first time in a story.

 

A good king ruled over the country at that time.

I’ve never seen a man with such a long beard.

 

• an example that represents an entire species or category.

 

A lion is a wild animal.

An oak is a big tree.

 

• an object that we have or don’t have.

 

I’ve got an umbrella.

I haven’t got a watch.

 

C

The article a / an is also used before nouns that indicate:

• professions and occupations

 

He’s an engineer and his wife is an interpreter.

 

• certain ailments or illnesses.

 

I’ve got a cough. She’s got a high temperature.

 

D

The article a / an is also used:

• in expressions of
• price: three pounds a kilo
• speed: 50 miles an hour
• frequency: three times a day, twice a month

 

• in numeric expressions.

 

A couple, a dozen, half a dozen, a hundred, a thousand, a million

 

• in exclamations, before a singular noun.

 

What a life! What a horrible day!

 

• before Mr / Ms + surname, to indicate ‘a certain someone’.

 

A Mr Cox lives here, but I’ve never seen him.