Guest  +  1157 Sat, 21 Jun 03 10:54 AM Could someone please tell us whether we say and write 'a hotel', or 'an hotel' or whether either is correct depending on the 'h' being pronounced.? Guest

	hitchhiker  +  1164 Sat, 21 Jun 03 11:04 AM Simple one this, a hotel hitchhiker Joined on Mon, Nov 18 2002 Richmond, UK Senior Member 3,552 "They obstinately persisted in their absence." —HGTG

	shmooliette  +  1169 Sat, 21 Jun 03 12:45 PM Hitchhiker is right, most people us a hotel, but you can also say an hotel! The reason people use an is because the first syllable is unstressed in hotel, much like the word hierloom or historic. If the first syllable is stressed like in hospital or househusband, then you can only use a. So, if you use a or an, you are technically right! Juliette shmooliette Joined on Fri, Apr 4 2003 New Member 35

	hitchhiker  +  1209 Sun, 22 Jun 03 03:19 PM It sounds awful though! :P hitchhiker

	chelay  +  43498 Thu, 26 Aug 04 03:46 PM it really sounds awfull when you say "an hotel". From what i've learned we use "a" if the noun starts with a consonant letter like " a handbag" now, we use "an" if the noun starts with a vowel like" an apple". Please correct me if I'm wrong, thanks!! chelay Joined on Thu, Aug 26 2004 New Member 02 Nouns, Vowels, Consonants

	anon1  +  43520 Thu, 26 Aug 04 05:52 PM Hi, Just adding my two cents, I'd vote for the "a hotel" version. Here is an article dealing with this specific question (including hotel) at AskOxford.com: Ask the Experts. If you look at Google search results: "a hotel" - 6,600,000 hits "an hotel" - 600,000 Thus, both versions are common, but "a hotel" is far more commonly used. In summary, I agree with the Guest's post above. MountainHiker anon1 Joined on Fri, Jul 2 2004 Senior Member 2,049 Articles, Grammar

	ahawnt  +  94254 Thu, 28 Apr 05 05:03 PM The use of the article "a" or "an" before "hotel" is influenced by the usage (i.e. whether American or British); however the conjecture that the usage of "a hotel" indicates the British is incorrect. There is a predilection for the phrase "an hotel" in the Queen's English when compared with the American usage (the Queen's English being the monastic form of British English). In using the Queen's English, the "h" is pronounced when the word "hotel" is spoken exclusively, but dropped when speaking the phrase "an hotel" (i.e. "an hotel" is pronounced: an o-tel'). This predilection is not sui generis to the word "hotel:" polysyllabic words beginning with "h" (e.g. "historic" and "hypothesis") are similarly phrased (e.g. "an historic") in the Queen's English. Whilst scholars argue the Queen's English is correct, the trend favours the 'American' usage ... even in Britain. Hope this helps, Aiden. ahawnt Joined on Thu, Apr 28 2005 New Member 01 Articles, British English