The word “vowel" comes from the Latin word vocalis, which means “speaking." The word “consonant," on the other hand, comes from the Latin word symphonon, which means “ pronounced with." This is appropriate, since consonants are pronounced with trapped sounds. Did you notice how your lips don't have to close to make these sounds? Airflow remains constant as you pronounce vowels. Vowels are pronounced with an open mouth and no trapped sounds. How did the vowels come to be called vowels and all the other letters consonants? It's all about how you say them. The 21 consonants are…well…all the other letters. However, as you'll learn in just a bit, at least one letter - y - can fall into either group depending upon its context. The 26 letters of the alphabet can be sorted into two groups: 21 consonants and 5 vowels. Didn't you? Admit it!ĭid you know that the letters of the alphabet can be divided into two different categories? It's true! What are we talking about? Vowels and consonants, of course!
Now decide if an or a is needed in these sentences.A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z! Now you've read your ABCs…and we bet you also sang them to the tune of the familiar song we all learn growing up. We use an because the honour has a vowel sound because the h is not pronounced: (h) onour.Ī historic day - the h is pronounced. Let's look at an example.Īn honour - the h is silent. Unfortunately there is no rule about when the h is silent. Sometimes with words that begin with h, the h sound is not pronounced. Compare:Īn octopus - octopus starts with a vowel sound.Ī one track mind - one-track starts has a w sound. This is also the case with o, which may sometimes have a w sound. Try saying these two words, see if notice how the u is pronounced in two different ways.Īn unforgettable experience - unforgettable has a vowel sound so we use an.Ī university - university has a y sound so we use a. It is very important to know that when a word starts with a vowel sound, you should use an. If a word starts with a consonant sound, use a. In most cases though, an is used before words that begin with vowels (a, e, i, o u.): Using an and a does not depend on the spelling of the word it comes before, it depends on the pronunciation of the word.
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