Seraphin  +  548878 Thu, 31 Jul 08 12:26 AM Which is correct? A university or An university. I googled this question and found conflicting results e.g.  Charles Dickens in All the Year Round used "Wickliffe, teacher himself in AN university, felt ..." Many books use titles  "the launching of a univeristy" "the idea of a university" "a unviersity for the 21st century" I am confused  Seraphin Universities, TSE

	Best answer by Yankee  +  548882 Thu, 31 Jul 08 12:50 AM The use of 'a' or 'an' is based on pronunciation.  If a word begins with a vowel sound, you should use 'an'.  For example: - an apple - an elephant - an idea - an orange - an umbrella - an hour - an SOS If a word begins with a consonant sound, you should use 'a'.  This includes some words that have a vowel at the beginning.  For example: - a ewe - a university - a uniform - a unique person Yankee Universities, Vowels, Consonants, Pronunciation, Students, Colours, Speaking, Schools

	Best answer by CalifJim  +  780778 Tue, 16 Jun 09 01:23 AM Grammar Geek “that's where there are no rules (that I know of)” Possible "rule". If the third letter of a word with initial u, other than a word with the prefix un-, is a vowel, it almost certainly will need "a", not "an". an um b rella an un c le an un d erstanding an un stable situation an un healthy atmosphere an un informed person an un educated man a un i verse a uk e lele a uv u la a us a ge question CJ CalifJim

	Avangi  +  548879 Thu, 31 Jul 08 12:31 AM AmE uses a university.  BrE uses an more liberally. My mother used to tell the one about the Englishman who was visiting America, and heard a howling sound one dark night in the woods. E:  What's that? A:  It's an owl. E:  I know its an (h)owl, but who's (h)owling? I believe "an university" is obsolete, but AmE would say "a historical novel" while BrE would say "an historical novel, " if I'm not mistaken. I wonder if in the past "university" was pronounced "ooniversity"?   - A. Avangi Joined on Mon, Nov 19 2007 Veteran Member 8,180 ". . . le plaisir delicieux et toujours nouveau d'une occupation inutile." - Henri de Regnier Universities

	nona the brit  +  548903 Thu, 31 Jul 08 01:41 AM also 'a' university in British English. Dickens was writing a long time ago. nona the brit Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004 England Veteran Member 11,713 The name says it all.

	yizhivika  +  549422 Thu, 31 Jul 08 11:38 PM Yes, Yankee's comments above pretty much speak for British English usage, as well as for American English. The initial u in the 'consonant' examples given by Yankee is invariably pronounced as yoo. As for British usage of 'An historic(al)', you will still occasionally find it, and I think one is supposed to drop the h when pronouncing it, i.e. "An 'istoric(al)", but I suspect it'll die out eventually, and we'll all use "A historic(al)" instead. yizhivika Joined on Fri, Jul 25 2008 Full Member 216 American English, British English, Universities, Consonants

	Grammar Geek  +  780248 Mon, 15 Jun 09 05:21 PM Anonymous “How does university have a consonant sound at the beginning? U is a vowel and it makes a vowel sound when spoken.  Surely it would be better to say there is no real rule that denotres the usage of these a's and an's. ”     University has the "y" sound of Yeti, Yamaha, and yak, which is a consonant.   It is quite unlike the vowel sound of umbrella or unknown.   You need to know how the word is pronounced - that's where there are no rules (that I know of) - UN is "yoo" in universe and university, but "uhn" in unknown. You can't tell by looking how it's pronounced, but once you know that, then there most certainly is a rule for using "a" or "an."     Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,660 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! Universities, Vowels, Consonants, Usages, Students, Schools

	Grammar Geek  +  781506 Tue, 16 Jun 09 01:51 PM Excellent! So, remove the "un" words from the pile, and look at the third letter.   Gotcha!   Grammar Geek