grammar guide: The indefinite articles are A or AN

1. Sounds

The indefinite articles are A or AN. We use A before a consonant-sound. We use AN before a vowel-sound. The difference depends on the sound of the vowels and consonants, not the spelling!

2. Examples

a teacher a peach a woman a house a man a useful book a university a European an English teacher an orange an old woman an hour an honest man an heir an honour an Irish person

3. Use

A or AN is used before names of professions: He is a painter. My sister is studying to be a doctor. It's really nice to be a student.

A is used before words like couple, dozen, hundred, thousand, million, ...: A couple of years ago I was living in Britain. There were a thousand people in the stadium.

A or AN means 'every' or 'each' in some expressions of time, speed, price,...: She visits me twice a year. He drives 50 miles an hour.

Don't put A or AN before uncountables: I don't like milk. Silence is golden. We're having soup for lunch.