LordsApostle:

Hello my house,
From basic knowledge, we know "an" is used for words beginning with vowel sounds, like
an aeroplane, an ark, an envelope

However, I often hear people use "an" for words starting with "H" , We know H is a consonant ; so please how correct is this?
I always hear people use the "an" for words starting with "H"
an Hotel, an Handbook etc.

That is suppose to be a grammatical blunder if u ask me, from basic knowledge, but what do I know.

I know we have linguistic experts here... Please, I'll need your input and clarifications on this...

Thank you.

you asked this question because of that your silly friend aryasand! she's the one who uses an in front of H.

well I agree with some posters here, you use an in from of H when the H is silent and not pronounced in the word

femi4:
Its the combination of the Sounds and vowels . The sound of "H" in Hotel is silent hence it starts with "O". So, its "an Hotel" cos hotel is pronounced as Otel

So, where the H is silent, the article becomes "an" e.g an Hour

who says hotel is pronounced that way? Please it's not oh, u are very wrong, check any English dictionary for correct pronounciation...
Please read through what has been written, and digest what u see

Hahahahahahahahahah, funny guy.

chrisbaxtian:



you asked this question because of that your silly friend aryasand! she's the one who uses an in front of H.

well I agree with some posters here, you use an in from of H when the H is silent and not pronounced in the word

LordsApostle:
Hahahahahahahahahah, funny guy.

you sabi!

That's my grouse with English. It is more about how it appeals to the ear than how it appears logically. English Language is not Logical. If the h is silent and shouldn't affect pronunciation, what then is it doing there? Why write it there? What does if add to the language?

femi4:
I mean its silent

H is NOT silent in Hotel.

It's a Yoruba problem. Just like some Anambra Igbos with L and R, or Buhari with P and F.

Rocktation:


You'd be shocked by the kind of mistakes these English born English speakers make and unintentionally too. I also used to think everything flies when they speak, since they're the originators, but believe me you, they themselves argue incessantly with themselves...visit their English/Grammar learning forums and see for yourself.

Please can you list their learning forums

Rocktation:


H is NOT silent in Hotel.

That's for British not American

British: a hotel

American: an hotel

chrisbaxtian:



you asked this question because of that your silly friend aryasand! she's the one who uses an in front of H.

well I agree with some posters here, you use an in from of H when the H is silent and not pronounced in the word

Only for a few words like honour and honest. But Boda Kazeem will still say "an aus" instead of " a house".

It is like asking if the avoidance of "An" before University is right? It is!

Just go straight to the point, Na Only Yoruba people dey say "an hotel"

Depends on how the H is pronounced. If the H is silent like in "honest", you would say "an honest man". This is because an usually is used before vowel sounds. However if the H sound is there as in "Huge", a would be used instead of an because it therefore begins with a consonant sound, e.g "a huge table" rather than "an huge table "

femi4:
Its the combination of the Sounds and vowels . The sound of "H" in Hotel is silent hence it starts with "O". So, its "an Hotel" cos hotel is pronounced as Otel

So, where the H is silent, the article becomes "an" e.g an Hour

Lolzzz... My God. You must be a yoruba man


Yorubas when pronouncing tend to add the consonant "H" before any vowel and take away the "H" wherever they find it. They're mostly the ones using "a" in place of "an" and vice versa

If H sound is silent in the pronunciation of the word e.g honour, hour, then you use "an" but if the H sound is audible e.g House, hammer then u use 'a'

encryptjay:
If the sound that precedes it is consonant, use 'a' but if it's a vowel sound, use 'an'.
In simpler words, if 'h' is silent during pronunciation, use 'an' for example
An honour
An heir
An hour
For non-silent 'h', use 'a'.
A horse
A herd
A hospital.

It's an honour to meet with you.
This is a hospital

I think I've heard, "an husband" before.

PRECEDE WTF


Keep it simple is alway a good rule to follow.Stick to what you know.
That is why Messi is greater than Okocha


Overdribble till you dribble yourself

An House

LordsApostle:

Hello my house,
From basic knowledge, we know "an" is used for words beginning with vowel sounds, like
an aeroplane, an ark, an envelope

However, I often hear people use "an" for words starting with "H" , We know H is a consonant ; so please how correct is this?
I always hear people use the "an" for words starting with "H"
an Hotel, an Handbook etc.

That is suppose to be a grammatical blunder if u ask me, from basic knowledge, but what do I know.

I know we have linguistic experts here... Please, I'll need your input and clarifications on this...

Thank you.

This is just one in a long list of evidences of how disgustingly rotten the education system has become.

LordsApostle:

Hello my house,
From basic knowledge, we know "an" is used for words beginning with vowel sounds, like
an aeroplane, an ark, an envelope

However, I often hear people use "an" for words starting with "H" , We know H is a consonant ; so please how correct is this?
I always hear people use the "an" for words starting with "H"
an Hotel, an Handbook etc.

That is suppose to be a grammatical blunder if u ask me, from basic knowledge, but what do I know.

I know we have linguistic experts here... Please, I'll need your input and clarifications on this...

Thank you.

Oga the rule is simple use a for words that begins with h not an whether silent or not. Pls don't complicate it further

There are some lowkey consonants that sounds soft, examples are H, X (xray) etc. So they go with 'an' just like in the regular vowels. But no crucification in using 'a' in cases where the flow is a bit difficult. Its a kind of UK and American concessions/exceptioms for grammar respectively.
More so, there are some vowels that go with 'a', such example is U and the likes. University and umbrella go with a and an respectively but they both start with the same vowel U.

okwabayi:

True but the BBC which to my knowledge uses the most updated English grammar always state "an historic event".

I believe English is evolving. The presence of non English, born in the UK speakers (Pakistani, Indian, Chinese and Thai etc) and youth influence in the form of slangs has made some earlier frowned upon practices an everyday occurence.

In most languages there are usually exceptions.

encryptjay:
If the sound that precedes it is consonant, use 'a' but if it's a vowel sound, use 'an'.
In simpler words, if 'h' is silent during pronunciation, use 'an' for example
An honour
An heir
An hour
For non-silent 'h', use 'a'.
A horse
A herd
A hospital.

It's an honour to meet with you.
This is a hospital

I think I've heard, "an husband" before.

Simple rule Nigerians will not obey

Whether h is silent or not use a and never an. If I come across such in any interview or exam I will tear your paper

Rocktation:
Lol...there was a time I had the same feeling of being left behind. It was not until I decided to stick with what I know that I know, did I find peace.
I don't care if the entire universe evolves...I refuse to get sucked into that nonsense.

Wasn't it Evolvement that brought the first development @ 1st You got sucked in it..

Same way Americans took their time to coin some versions of their English eg You is gonna be there, Me is good, We is fine, I think language is all about your location.. Wateva flies in anywhere you find yourself, do.....

Auladimeji1:
Please can you list their learning forums

I used to know one ESL forum, other wisely called The English club...and another englishforums.com. I really don't take note of their names though, but there are so many you will constantly stumble upon, if you are like I used to be. I was constantly having doubts and sought explanations on google. I would type stuff like- "compared with or compared to?", or something like - "is behind his back" a correct grammar? The arguments I find, sometimes against scholars of English that will start by giving you their pedigrees, lol, are usually very heated and entertaining, with the winners of my heart, satisfactorily explaining their stands.

People have made gud pointz. However, Eng Lang operates unchanging rules, it is just dt we have varieties of Eng..in other words, there are Englishes but only one variety is still acceptable, RP. It will shock u dt most of us still speak better English dn some "whites", so, do nt be carried away wt evrytn u listen to on d screen or u read online. Language develops truly bt d rules dnt change. Be friendly wt ur Dictionary, stay with d correct rules and neva stop reading...

nabegibeg:



Oga the rule is simple use a for words that begins with h not an whether silent or not. Pls don't complicate it further

Which rule. So for you it'll be; a heir & a honor
SmH

charlesu49:


Lolzzz... My God. You must be a yoruba man


Yorubas when pronouncing tend to add the consonant "H" before any vowel and take away the "H" wherever they find it. They're mostly the ones with the using "a" in place of "an" and vice versa

Not trying to sound tribal but I've also noticed that they are the one who generally make this error(at least on Nigerian blogs and news media)..I guess it has to do with their accent..

Pass an information and have a peace of mind

LordsApostle:

concerning the bolded, they are both superlatives, so it's actually grammatically incorrect to put superlatives side by side; so for such "more good" becomes a better English... , how ever, much better is correct, but most sweetest, or more better is grammatically incorrect.

Actually correct me if I'm wrong but much is correct in "much Better" because it is used for uncountable things

Rocktation:


H is NOT silent in Hotel.

It could be

It depends on the speaker and it is a phenomenon called ELISION

this is present in many laguages
In Britain
Elision may happen as a result of Social/Education class or Regional accent

There are many dialects of English in Britain and the words that they elide is what make them unique. The legitimacy of these variants cannot be impeached

One of the commonest is the word HERE


It is quite common to hear "Come over 'ere"

or 'ello" instead of Hello

This is not to say that the H is silent rather it is ELIDED.

So

Where we say an Hotel the H is ussually ELIDED

Elision could be verbal or written.