an

/æn/ (bre, ipa) · [æn] /æn/ (ame, ipa)

an — article

1. placed before one noun phrase when its first spoken sound is a vowel.

1.冠詞A1
釋義

placed before one noun phrase when its first spoken sound is a vowel.

例句

Noor packed an apple and some cheese for the train ride.

an + noun before vowel sound

We waited an hour outside the clinic before the doors opened.

silent h: an hour

文法句型

an + singular noun

an + adjective + singular noun

用法筆記

Choose an by sound, not spelling. It is also used before words with silent h, such as hour and honest, but English usually keeps a before written vowels pronounced /j/ or /w/, as in a university or a one-day trip.

常見錯誤

I waited a hour outside the clinic.
I waited an hour outside the clinic.
💡hour begins with a vowel sound, so English uses an.
She bought an university guide at the station.
She bought a university guide at the station.
💡university begins with a /j/ sound, so English uses a, not an.