| 词组 | a, an |
| 释义 | a, an There is an article on the proper use of a and an in almost every usage book ever written, although hardly a native speaker of English has any difficulty with them—in fact one seldom thinks about them at all in speech. The difficulty, when there is any, is to be found in writing. The basic rules are these: use a before a consonant sound; use an before a vowel sound. Before a letter or an acronym or before numerals, choose a or an according to the way the letter or numeral is pronounced: an FDA directive, a U.N. resolution, a $5.00 bill. Actual usage, of course, is more complex than the simple rules would lead you to expect. Here is what actual usage shows: 1. Before words with an initial consonant sound, a is usual in speech and writing. This is in line with the basic rule. 2. Before h in an unstressed or weakly stressed syllable, a and an are both used in writing (an historic, a historic) but an is more usual in speech, whether the h is pronounced or not. This variation is the result of historical development; in unstressed and weakly stressed syllables, h was formerly not pronounced in many words where it is pronounced at the present time. A few words, such as historic and (especially in England) hotel, are in transition, and may be found with either a or an. You choose the article that suits your own pronunciation. 3. Occasionally in modern writing and speech and regularly in the King James Version of the Bible, an is used before h in a stressed syllable, as in an hundred. Again, we have the same historical change: many more words were pronounced with a silent initial h in the past than are at present. A few words, such as heir, hour, and honest, generally have silent initial h; some others, like herb or humble are pronounced both ways. Use a or an according to your own pronunciation. 4. Before words beginning with a consonant sound but an orthographic vowel, an is sometimes used in speech and writing (an unique, such an one). This use is less frequent now than in the past. 5. Before words with an initial vowel sound, an is usual in speech and writing. This is in line with the basic rule. 6. Occasionally, and more often in some dialects than others, a is used in speech before words beginning with a vowel sound. The Dictionary of American Regional English reports this to be frequent in the United States; the evidence suggests it may have been somewhat more common in the past. 7. A is normally unstressed, and pronounced when stressed, as in "He's a vice president, not the vice president," it is pronounced \\\\'ā\\\\ in the United States, but often \\\\'a\\\\ in Canada. |
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