"A" versus "an" before nouns

[BOOKCLUB2018753]

I am an Australian, therefore I was taught British english, as opposed to American english. There are vast differences.
Basically, we had to learn by heart, which words had an 'a' or an 'an' before them. There is No hard and fast rule for us.
"He had an easy life". "He had a university degree". "I went to see a Urologist". "I went to see an Orthopaedic Surgeon". It all depends on the flow of the words. "He had a happy childhood". "He had an unhappy childhood".

[roatanmama]

So great to hear from another country about this topic. Thank you so much for responding. I got docked on a Review I did because an editor didn't use common sense when it came to American English!

[MrsCatInTheHat]

So great to hear from another country about this topic. Thank you so much for responding. I got docked on a Review I did because an editor didn't use common sense when it came to American English!

If you feel the editor is wrong, request a recheck explaining how the way you used it is correct. Don't tell them that they didn't use common sense. That's not professional.

[bookowlie]

So great to hear from another country about this topic. Thank you so much for responding. I got docked on a Review I did because an editor didn't use common sense when it came to American English!

If you feel the editor is wrong, request a recheck explaining how the way you used it is correct. Don't tell them that they didn't use common sense. That's not professional.

The a vs. an rule is the same in British English and American English. It's not the letter as it looks - it's the sound. For example there is no such thing as saying "an university" because the sound at the beginning of the word is the "y" sound - basically, the word is pronounced you-niversity.

I agree with you, CatintheHat. It is very rude to say an editor didn't use common sense. If there is something a reviewer feels is unfair, he/she is welcome to submit a review recheck request. It's easy to post nasty things about the editors...the professional thing to do is state your case with specifics and submit a request. The reviewer might be right or the editor might be right, but it doesn't help to sling the mud with a general vent.

[bookowlie]

I am an Australian, therefore I was taught British english, as opposed to American english. There are vast differences.
Basically, we had to learn by heart, which words had an 'a' or an 'an' before them. There is No hard and fast rule for us.
"He had an easy life". "He had a university degree". "I went to see a Urologist". "I went to see an Orthopaedic Surgeon". It all depends on the flow of the words. "He had a happy childhood". "He had an unhappy childhood".

It's not the flow of the words. It's the sound of the word - for example, unhappy has a vowel sound at the beginning whereas urologist and university don't have a vowel sound. University is pronounced you-niversity and urologist is pornounced your-ologist.

[roatanmama]

I was not aware we could request a re-check.

[kdex97_]

in my own understanding of the use of 'a' and 'an'. Letter 'a' follows a consonant letter that starts a word while 'an' follows a vowel letter that starts a word.for example, an ewe(not a ewe). Bt exceptions do surface, e.g, a university(nt an university because the 'u' there is preceded by 'j' in its correct pronounciation,i.e juniversity.

[roatanmama]

The consensus seems to be, and Grammarly agrees, that in American English the article used is based on the first consonant sound and not just the fact that it starts with a consonant. Thank you for your input.

[Burgundy1991]

'A university'
It starts with the consonant u, but the pronunciation is 'you' - a consonant.

'An honest opinion'
It starts with the consonant h, but the pronunciation at the start in 'on' - a vowel.

'A hotel'
Remember: regional accent may affect pronunciation. I believe the initial pronunciation came from French, where the h is silent ('an 'otel'). However, some areas of the UK, the h is silent, a is used and the n joins the 'otel ('a n'otel!') The same goes for historic. I saw 'an historic garden' in a leaflet once and it really annoyed me, as the Standard English pronunciation includes the h.

[Yssimnar]

According to Scribendi and others, not all words that begin with a vowel should be preceded by "an." I wrote: something about "a" ewe. The editor here said it should be "an" ewe. Would you say "an university?" Or "an European?"

I disagree, as does Scribendi: "The word may start with an e, but think for a minute about the sound that the word makes: you-we. We know that y is a consonant."

Conversely, should a word like "herb" have the adjective "a" simply because herb starts with a consonant?

What does anyone else think?

After reading your post, I would say Google it if it isn't obvious because there are too many exceptions to the rule. Maybe a good rule is that if it starts with a vowel or the beginning of a word sounds like a vowel, Google it