Artículos (A,AN). Aplicaciones y reglas
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Artículos (A,AN). Aplicaciones y reglas
by Rosana Emperatriz Reyes
1. When we use the word preceding it begins with a consonant.
1.1. Example
1.1.1. A car
1.1.2. A dog
2. We use a / an when we describe people or things. For example:
2.1. She is a doctor
2.1.1. My girlfriend is a beautiful woman
2.2. That is an elephant
3. We do not use a / an with names or nouns that are written in plural or are countless, because a / an means "one". For example:
3.1. My grand parents are teachers (not...a teachers)
3.2. Would you like some bread? (not...a bread)
4. We do not use a / an with this single adjective without a noun. For example:
4.1. Carla is very good (Not Carla is a very good)
5. With words like 'umbrella', 'ice cream' and 'apple' must be used: "an umbrella", "an ice cream" and "an Apple".
6. We use an when the word preceding it begins with a vowel.
6.1. Example
6.1.1. An elephant
6.1.1.1. An egg
6.1.2. An tangarine
7. Rules and exceptions to use items 'a' y 'an'
7.1. When the word begins with a consonant you must use 'a'. If you use words and phrases such as 'ball', 'glass of water' or 'cup of coffee', then it would be "a ball", "a glass of water" and "cup of coffee".
7.2. When the word begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u), then you must use 'an' because it sounds better and sounds more appropriate to say.
7.2.1. Sin embargo, con esta regla hay una excepción. Si estás utilizando una palabra con una ‘h’ muda, como ‘honourable’ u ‘honest’ entonces tienes que utilizar ‘an’. Por lo tanto, sería “an honourable man” y “an honest mistake”