What do you do when you must choose between using ‘a’ or ‘an’ when it precedes a letter or word?
Use ‘a’ before a consonant sound (b, c, d, f, g, etc.).
Use ‘an’ before a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u).
The key is to look at the sound the word makes.
Example: Bill said he wanted to become (a, an) FBI agent when he grew up.
Answer: Bill said he wanted to become an FBI agent when he grew up.
The letter F is a consonant, but it sounds like it is preceded with a vowel when it is pronounced.
An ‘ef’ – B – I agent?
Yes. It’s the initial sound of the word that we are looking for!
Now, isn’t that easy?
