Grammar

A collection of 470 posts

Is It an Heirloom or a Heirloom?

It’s an heirloom. The word heirloom begins with a silent "h", so we use the indefinite article "an". Remember, the rule for using "a" or "an" is based on pronunciation, not spelling.
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Is It an Heiress or a Heiress?

It’s an heiress. The rule for using "a" or "an" is based on pronunciation. Since "heiress" is a word with a silent "h", it takes the article "an".
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Is It an Heir or a Heir?

It’s an heir. Since the first sound of the word heir is a vowel sound (the letter “h” is silent), we use the indefinite article “an”.
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Is It a Uvula or an Uvula?

It’s a uvula. The rule for using “a” or “an” is based on pronunciation—not spelling. If the following word has a consonant sound, then the indefinite article to use is “a”.
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Is It a User or an User?

It’s a user; thus, we say “a user-friendly”, “a user interface”, “a user fee”, etc. The word “user” begins with a consonant sound, a “you” sound, and therefore takes the indefinite article “a”.
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Is It a Useful or an Useful?

It’s a useful... The rule for using “a” or “an” is based on pronunciation, not spelling. Since the word useful starts with a consonant sound (a “you” sound), it takes the indefinite article “a”.
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Is It a US or an US?

It’s a US citizen, a US company, a US bank, etc. We use “a” or “an” based on the sound made by the word that follows, not the spelling.
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Is It a Uruguayan or an Uruguayan?

It’s a Uruguayan. The rule for using “a” or “an” is based on pronunciation, not spelling. The vowel “u” in this case makes a consonant sound (a “you” sound), and therefore takes the indefinite article “a”.
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Is It a University or an University?

It’s a university. The initial letter of the word “university” makes a consonant sound (a “you” sound); consequently, it takes the indefinite article “a”.
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