The choice of a or an is not based on the initial written letter. It is based on the initial sound. You have to listen to sounds, not look at letters, to decide. The most common examples are with words that start with the "y" sound,

is goldfish a double consonant? what about carriage?

My solution is equally valid, if a bit contrived: vowels are listed once and consonants are repeated; hence, the 'N' should be repeated.

Philip is right. An i s used before the words that begins with a vowel , A goes before all words that begin with consonants.

Using “a” and “an” Before Words Raphael asks: When should I use “a” and when should I use “an” before the different words? For example, should I say “a hour” or “an hour?” I stumble over this everytime and dont’t know if I’m getting it right, as

When do the Spaniards pronounce the s like th? I know at the end of words and the "z" as well. But, is there a rule about vowels or consonants with the "s"? You could ask this question at Foro De Espanol , EF's

When do the Spaniards pronounce the s like th? I know at the end of words and the "z" as well. But, is there a rule about vowels or consonants with the "s"?

I use "an LED." When you see it written out, whoever wrote it saw the consonant "L" in "LED" and followed the rule of "a" before consonant sounds. For example, the words lion, lamb, lobster. Say them aloud

Yankee, thanks for your clarification. I got this another related question. Does acronym exempt from this "an LED" rule? Do we always try to pronounce an acronym before we precede it with an "a" or "an"?

I've never heard anyone pronounce LED (as in LED display ) the same way they pronounce "led". I'd say it's more likely a case of people not thinking about what they are writing. People get into the habit of using