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Level: A1-A2

A vs An — Sound Rule Practice

The choice between a and an depends on the SOUND of the next word, not the letter. A university (yoo sound), an hour (silent h), an MBA (em sound). One rule, four tricky cases, and 51 click-to-hear examples to make it automatic.

📝 Articles unit · lesson 2 of 9 ⏱ about 10 minutes 🔊 every example has audio

Builds on 📝 Nouns — the basics Next in unit A / An / The / Zero →

The rule: listen, don't look

  • Use a before a CONSONANT sound: a book, a car, a house
  • Use an before a VOWEL sound: an apple, an orange, an egg

🎯 Tricky sounds — listen, don't look

  • a university (starts with "yoo" — consonant sound)
  • a European country (also "yoo")
  • a one-way street (starts with "wun" — consonant sound)
  • an hour (silent h — starts with vowel sound "ow")
  • an honest person (silent h)
  • an heir (silent h)

📝 With adjectives — match the next word

When an adjective comes between, the article matches the ADJECTIVE's sound:

  • an old house (old starts with a vowel sound)
  • an interesting university (interesting starts with a vowel sound — even though university takes "a")
  • a beautiful evening (beautiful starts with a consonant sound — even though evening takes "an")

🔤 With abbreviations — pronounce them

  • an MBA (em-bee-ay — vowel sound)
  • an FBI agent (eff-bee-eye)
  • a UN representative (yoo-en — consonant sound)
  • a USB cable (yoo-es-bee)

Practice until it's automatic

These quizzes adapt: answer right and the sentence is gone; miss it and it comes back until you master every one. Your progress is saved on this device.

  • A — before consonant sounds (the normal case)
  • I saw ______ cat in the garden. – a
  • She bought ______ book at the store. – a
  • He drives ______ car to work. – a
  • We live in ______ house. – a
  • That is ______ good idea. – a
  • She wants ______ dog. – a
  • I would like ______ sandwich, please. – a
  • He is ______ teacher. – a
  • AN — before vowel sounds (the normal case)
  • I would like ______ apple, please. – an
  • She has ______ idea. – an
  • Can I have ______ orange? – an
  • He is ______ engineer. – an
  • That is ______ interesting story. – an
  • She bought ______ umbrella. – an
  • I ate ______ egg for breakfast. – an
  • He owns ______ antique shop. – an
  • A — tricky! word starts with vowel LETTER but consonant SOUND
  • She has ______ university degree. – a
  • It is ______ European country. – a
  • That is ______ one-way street. – a
  • This is ______ unique opportunity. – a
  • He gave ______ uniform to his son. – a
  • I bought ______ useful gadget. – a
  • We saw ______ UFO last night. – a
  • He plays ______ ukulele. – a
  • AN — tricky! word starts with consonant LETTER but vowel SOUND
  • I will be ready in ______ hour. – an
  • He is ______ honest person. – an
  • The princess married ______ heir. – an
  • It is ______ honor to meet you. – an
  • She gave him ______ honorable mention. – an
  • A / AN with abbreviations — pronounce, don't spell
  • She has ______ MBA from Harvard. – an
  • He is ______ FBI agent. – an
  • I got ______ X-ray yesterday. – an
  • She is ______ UN representative. – a
  • He bought ______ USB cable. – a
  • We saw ______ UFO last night. – a
  • A / AN with adjectives — match the adjective's sound
  • She is ______ beautiful singer. – a
  • He is ______ old friend. – an
  • It is ______ interesting university. – an
  • She drives ______ small car. – a
  • He is ______ excellent teacher. – an
  • She is ______ talented student. – a
  • It is ______ useful tool. – a
  • He told ______ interesting story. – an
  • Mixed practice
  • I would like ______ apple, please. – an
  • She is ______ excellent student. – an
  • He bought ______ new car. – a
  • It is ______ historical event. – a
  • She has ______ honest face. – an
  • That was ______ unique experience. – a
  • I need ______ umbrella today. – an
  • She is ______ happy child. – a