hi
in today's lesson we'll be learning
about the indefinite article
ah and and and when to use them
so firstly uh an anne
modified is indefinite referring to
any member of a group for example
my daughter really wants a puppy for
christmas
this refers to any puppy we don't know
which puppy because we haven't
found it yet somebody
call a policeman this again
refers to any policeman we don't need a
specific policeman
we need any policeman who is available
when i was at the zoo i saw an elephant
here we're talking about a single
non-specific thing
in this case an elephant and there were
probably
several elephants at the zoo but
there's only one we're talking about
here
so how do you know when to use
uh and when to use an
in general if the first letter makes a
vowel
type sound you use an
and if the first letter makes a
consonant type sound you use
however even if you follow these basic
rules when deciding to use
a or an remember that there are
exceptions so let's have a look in more
detail a goes before
singular nouns that begin with a
consonant
sound so we have a cat
or a dog if the noun is modified by an
adjective the choice between uh and on
depends on the initial sound of the
adjective that
immediately follows the article so we'd
have
a purple onion because
even though onion is with a vowel
sound the adjective is what counts
and so it's pa which is a consonant
sound
so we use ah and
more examples we could have a broken egg
even though egg is a vowel
sound it's modified by broken which is a
consonant sound so we use
a and goes before
singular nouns that begin with
a vowel sound so we have an
apricot an egg
an energetic runner even though runner
begins with a consonant sound
the choice between uh and and depends on
the sound of the
adjective so here energetic which is a
vowel sound so we use an
an indian man and orbit
and uprising
we use a with a singular noun beginning
with a consonant sound so
for example we have a user so even
though it's written with a vowel the
sound is
ya which is a consonant so we write
uh remember is the sound that dictates
whether we use
or university
again we use ah because even though it's
written with a vowel
the sound is ya which is a consonant
so we write a and a unicycle
again it's the yu sound so we use uh
when you the letter u makes the
sound of yah as in you or an
o makes the same sound as as in one
then is used let me give you some
examples
so we have a union again it's a yes
sound so it's
a a unicorn a used napkin or
a one-legged man it sounds like a what
a european country it's written with an
e
then it sounds like yeah so it's uh
and is used before noun starting with a
silent
h or an unsounded h because the h does
not have any audible sound
the sound that follows the article is a
vowel
so we use an so we'd have an
hour and honorable peace
and honest error
r is used before nouns starting with a
pronounced
ha as well so you'd have a
horse so because we hear the her we use
a in some cases where ha
or h is pronounced such as historical
you can use an however er
is more commonly used and preferred
so you could say an historical event
or a historical event
remember that these rules also apply
when you use
acronyms for example you could say
an atm machine which is an automated
teller machine that's where you get
money out of the wall
and we're using an because it's an a a
vowel
sound another case where this rule
applies
is when using acronyms or initialisms
that start with
constant letters but have vowel sounds
for example an mp3 player
was used to record the data a mp
so it's an a vowel sound or an
sql statement again it's a
consonant but has a vowel sound remember
too that in english
the indefinite articles are used to
indicate
membership in a group i am a teacher
i am a member of a large group of people
known as
teachers bill is an irishman
again he's a member of the group of
people known as the
irish okay so now it's your turn
fill in the gap with either a or an
number one sorry
we don't have any biscuits
would you like blank apple
before the vowel sound of a in apple we
use an
two mr jones will be here soon
can i get you blank cup of tea while you
wait
we use a before a consonant sound so
it's a
cup of tea it's a consonant c
three i want to buy a soft drink can you
lend me blank euro
ah the sound is ya as in you
as in euro so it's ah
four i'd like to ask a question will you
give me blank
honest reply
and the sound is a vowel the h is not
heard so it's an
five why do you want to do blank mba you
told me you weren't
interested in business
and it's an acronym but has a vowel
sound
so we use an 6. hey
referee that is blank unfair decision
it wasn't a foul write your answer
in the comment box below and i promise
to let you know
how you've done okay
so that's it for now i hope you feel
more comfortable using uh and an in
english remember to like this video if
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so take care and see you very soon bye
bye