A unicorn or An unicorn? (2024)

FAQs

Which is correct, a unicorn or an unicorn? ›

It's a unicorn. The word “unicorn” begins with a vowel in the spelling, but it makes a consonant sound (a "you" sound). We use “a” or “an” based on the sound of the initial letter of the word that follows. Despite being a vowel, the letter “u” does not always produce a vowel sound.

The word-initial "y" sound ("unicorn") is a glide [j] phonetically, which has consonantal properties; consequently, it is treated as a consonant, requiring "a."

'Unicorn' begins with a vowel that has a consonant sound 'y', so you should use 'a' before the word. The same applies to 'university', 'union', 'universe' and so on. If the vowel has a vowel sound, on the other hand, use 'an'.

Correct is: “a one”: because 'one' starts with /w/, a consonant sound. A one is correct. Even though the word begins with 'o ' its pronunciation is consonantal i.e. with ' w ' so a will be used before it.

an orange... “an” is used before any word whose first sound is a vowel, usually words whose spelling begins with a vowel letter (a,e,I,o,u). an orange is correct.

“an onion” is correct. an is used before a singular noun beginning with a vowel sound and here onion begins with the vowel o.

articles are - a, an and the which comes before a noun or a pronoun. we use an for the words beginning with the 5 vowels - a, e, i, o and u. the article an is used before the noun egg as its starts with vowel 'e'. however , we use a for common nouns and the for he proper nouns.

With words such as 'umbrella', 'ice cream' and 'apple' you have to use “an umbrella”, “an ice cream” and “an apple”. Unfortunately there are some exceptions to this rule too. When 'u' makes the same sound as the 'y' in “you”, or 'o' makes the same sound as 'w' in “won” then you should use 'a'.

A and an are different forms of the indefinite article. Words where the “h” is silent, such as honor or honest, use “an” instead of “a.” Since the “h” in “hour” is silent, it is “an hour” instead of “a hour.”

“A uniform is correct". Explanation: Though the word “Uniform" starts with U which is a vowel but when you pronounce the word" Uniform “ the sound is of Y which is a consonant. So, An is incorrect. A is the correct article to use with Uniform.

Is it an old man or an old man? ›

Well, the simple answer is the second choice “an old man.” Why? “Old man” starts with “o”, a vowel sound. When you have an indefinite article in front of a word that starts with a vowel sound (a/e/i/o/u/sometimes y), you always must use “an”.

Although some words may visually start with a consonant, their pronunciation can lead with a vowel sound. For example, the word “honest” starts with the consonant “h,” but its pronunciation begins with the vowel sound of “o.” Thus, the correct usage is “an honest.”

An honest is the correct answer. Because, if you pronounce it the 'h' is silent and an is used with vowels like a, i, e, o, u. So, when you pronounce it the sound of 'o' will come first and then we will use the article an. So, because of that an honest is the correct answer.

So, we are talking about 'eagle' in general and not pointing out to a specific eagle here. Thus, we need to use an indefinite article and since the word 'eagle' begins with a vowel sound, we should use the indefinite article 'an'.

In the given sentence, the word 'owl' begins with a vowel sound. Therefore, the correct option is C) an.