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As the indefinite article specifies one thing (e.g., a cup means one cup), it is not used with non-
countable nouns (e.g., water, air, integrity). For example:
I need an air.
Play me a music.
Give me a heat.
Most commonly, the indefinite determiner some is used instead.
A house
An hour
(House and hour start with the same three letters; however, house attracts "a,"
and hour attracts "an." This is because house starts with a consonant sound, but hour starts
with a vowel sound.)
A uniform row
An unidentified man
(Uniform and unidentified start with the same three letters; however, uniform attracts "a,"
and unidentified attracts "an." This is because uniform starts with a consonant sound (yoo),
but unidentified starts with a vowel sound.)
An MOT
(The letter "em" starts with a vowel sound.)
An LRS
(The letter "el" starts with a vowel sound.)
A US diplomat
(The letter "yoo" starts with a consonant sound.)
(Question 2) Do you say "an historic moment" or "a
historic moment"?
The words historic, historical, historian, horrific, and even hotel are worthy of special mention because
they are often spoken and written with the wrong version of the indefinite article. All of these words
start with a consonant sound, as soft as it might be. Therefore, their article is "a" not "an."
The attraction of power can be a disease, a horrific disease. (Irish actor Liam Cunningham)
We owe an historic debt to American Indians. They have a unique set of concerns that
haven't been addressed. (American politician Alan Franken)
(An historic is wrong, but a unique is correct.)
Here's the guidance: If the job title or office name is being used for its dictionary definition, i.e., as
a common noun, then don't use a capital letter. However, if the job title or office name nails it down to
one specific person or office, then use a capital letter. Look at these examples:
The Prime Minister said: "Being a prime minister is a lonely job...you cannot lead from the
crowd." (Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher).
(The Prime Minister specifies an individual, but a prime minister does not.)
(Issue 2) Capitalizing "The" when it starts a name
(e.g., The Beatles).
Some names (particularly band names) start with "The" (e.g., The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Sex
Pistols). When such names appear in running text, you have a choice whether to write "The" (with a
capital letter) or "the." There's no consensus among the leading style guides on this point, so go with
your preference.
Bear in mind that you might stumble across this issue with foreign names.
Does it disturb anyone else that "The Los Angeles Angels" baseball team translates directly as
"The The Angels Angels"? (Anon)
(There's no fix for this one. Just go with it.)
Key Points
Use "an" before a vowel sound and "a" before a consonant sound. (Note the
word sound.)
If you're drawn to "an historic" or "an horrific", give your aitches more "huh" until you're
comfortable with using "a."
When a job title (e.g., ambassador) or an office name (e.g., finance office) is preceded
by "an" or "a" (as opposed to "the"), write it with a lowercase letter.
Interactive Exercise
Here are three randomly selected questions from a larger exercise, which can be edited and
printed to create exercise worksheets.
Q1
True or false? 'The' is the indefinite article. A: TrueB: False
Q2