“A” / “an”

Answer A is correct.

The general rule is to use “an” before a vowel and “a” before a consonant. However, this rule depends on the pronunciation of the word, not the spelling. “Honour” [(QNE], “honest” [(Qnist] and “hour” [(AUE] start with a vowel sound, so we say and write “an honour”, “an honest mistake” and “an hour”.

If the word is written with a vowel, but is pronounced as a consonant, then use “a”, as in “a euro” [(JUEREU] and “a one-day

[(wvn dei] conference”.

Our tip: Even if you get this right when you speak, it will probably catch you out when you write — simply because “an” followed by a vowel might look weird on paper. Reading your text out loud should reassure you that it’s right!