A
A or an
As a general rule, use “A” when the following word starts with a consonant, and “an” when it starts with a vowel.
Examples:
A man
A woman
A bus
An elephant
An octopus
There are exceptions. Some consonants have a vowel sound and are preceded by ‘an’:
Examples:
An hour
An honor
An herb
An MBA
Some vowel-starting words have a “y” or “w’ sound and are preceded by ‘a’:
A Utopian ideal
A one-time event
In summary, it is the sound of the word following the article that determines which to use, rather than the actual letter.
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a form of shorthand, enabling readers to understand the meaning of a word or phrase without needing to see it written out in full. Abbreviations may take the form of letters to represent ...
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