Why is the article determined by the adjective and not the noun? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicates:
“A user” or “an user”?
Use of “a” versus “an”
If I remember correctly back to my school days, the rule is to use "a" if the next word starts with a consonant, or "an" if the next word is a vowel.
For example:
- This is a banana.
- This is an egg.
If the above is correct, then why does this sentence sound wrong...?
- The account requires an username.
Solution 1:
When a word begins with a u, sometimes it a acquires what linguists call a "y-glide": a pronunciation that makes it sound like it begins with a "y":
- user (yoozer)
- uniform (yooniform)
- ubiquitous (yoobiquitous)
And so on.
Now think of words you pronounce that begin with "y": a youth, a yew — you wouldn't say "an youth" or "an yew".
So we say "a user" but "an understanding" — just that simple.