When should I use "a" versus "an" in front of a word beginning with the letter h?

Question

A basic grammar rule is to use an instead of a before a vowel sound. Given that historic is not pronounced with a silent h, I use “a historic”. Is this correct? What about heroic? Should be “It was a heroic act” or “It was an heroic act”?

I remember reading somewhere that the h is sometimes silent, in which case it’s an, and when the h is pronounced, it’s a. But then I also remember reading that it depends on which syllable is stressed. And I also think I read somewhere that it might differ between British and American English.

Personally, I pronounce the h, and believe that a is correct. I find that it sounds incorrect to use an and pronounce heroic without the h.

So how do I know when to use a and when to use an with a word beginning with the letter h? Are both acceptable or is there one that is correct?

Answer 1

Indeed, you are correct.

In certain accents, history, hotel, etc. are pronounced with an h sound. In those accents, a should be used. In other accents, such as my own, it is pronounced without an h sound, and therefore starts with a vowel. In that accent, it would be correct for one to say an.

Queen Elizabeth II is one such person who could correctly say an historic event. President Obama is one such person who could correctly say a historic event.

In writing, it doesn't really matter which one is used.

Answer 2

The point of the word an is to avoid the awkward silent pause between words when saying something like "a apple." So, you should put an before any word that begins with a vowel sound, not just a vowel letter.

The good news is that you just need to do whatever makes sense when talking:

• a historian
• an honor
• a xylophone
• an X-ray
• a user (begins with y sound)
• an umbrella
• a one-eyed pirate (begins with w sound)
• an owl

Answer 3

It is a traditional rule of English that an can be used before words that begin with an H sound if the first syllable of that word is not stressed. Indeed, some traditionalists would say it must be used before such words. Since the first syllable of historic is unstressed, it is acceptable to use an before it.

In the Corpus of Contemporary American English, there are 1591 incidences of “a historic” and 428 incidences of “an historic”, showing that usage of an before such words is dying out.

Answer 4

Holy Moly (Or Oly Moly):

Google books ngram viewer for "a historic" and "an historic"

Answer 5

In words beginning with “h” where the accent is on the 2nd syllable, it is also correct to use "an". In such cases you do not pronounce the “h”.

So "an historical act" is spoken as "an'istorical act".

This practice has a long, respected pedigree, at least in British literature.

Answer 6

It's pretty hard to decide who is "correct". I can offer the example of someone like newsreader Jeremy Paxman who decidedly says "an historic" with an aspirated "h". There are also lots more television announcers who do this in the UK. It strikes me as being an example of hypercorrectness similar to blanket-removal of linking-r sounds.

Answer 7

You ask why some people say or write an historical. The thing is, that's not what any people actually say or write. People who use the string an historical is going have a noun after it. E.g, novel:

• He started an historical novel today and now he can't put it down.

because an historical is not a complete constituent; it has to have a noun to modify. But an historical novel is a complete constituent. And in that constituent, you will notice that the stress is on the syllable with TOR in it.

• an hisTORical novel

And you will also notice that the syllable with his in it is not stressed, and that there is a strong tendency to leave out the /h/ when saying it, producing something that might be pronounced

• /ənɪ'storəkəl'navəl/,

and might be spelled

• an 'istorical novel

if one had the simple faith in apostrophes that millions display daily.

A linguist would say (and this linguist does say) that initial /h/ is frequently dropped before unstressed syllables. Stressed initial syllables are more normal in English than unstressed, and so they don't drop /h/; these include all monosyllables like ham and hint, for instance.

This is not a rule that has to be followed; this is an optional rule that is followed by many people, but not by all, often, but not always, even by the same people. So sometimes people say "an historical", because 'istorical starts with a vowel in speech, and the rule says an before vowels when they're pronounced as vowels in speech, never mind spelling. So in those cases they'll write it an historical, too, because it's a speech rule, not a spelling rule.

Answer 8

See this question/answer: When should I use "a" vs "an"?

The question of "a" vs "an" is always decided by the pronunciation of the word that follows the article. Thus, various geographical regions that have different pronunciation rules may use a different article for the same word."

In short, if you pronounce the "h" then use "a". If you do not pronounce the "h", use "an."

Answer 9

I use "an" before a word which I think would start with a vowel in the speech of whoever I'm talking to. For instance, I ordinarily say "an" before "historical", because although I always pronounce "h" at the beginning of "historical", I believe that many people don't pronounce an "h" here. I just want to get along.

Answer 10

If you pronounce the h, say a historian. If you don't pronounce the h, say an historian. The latter sounds old-fashioned now.

Answer 11

It depends. In contemporary usage, if the "H" is voiced, as in "house" or "happy", the article "a"is becoming more common, for example, "He is a humble man". if the "H" is not voiced, as in "honest", or "honorable", an is still generally preferred.

In older texts, it is more common to have "an" in places where contemporary usage favors "a". Psalm 84:3 (Protestant versification) talks about the sparrow finding "an house" in the Jewish temple.

Answer 12

The choice of article is based on pronunciation, not spelling, so for instance "an honor". There are some dialects in which the h in "historical" is silent, and for those dialects, "an historical" is correct.

Answer 13

A balanced overview to be found posted on Writing Skills [slightly reformatted and amended]:

Hit or myth? Use ‘an’ before h-words

Author : Catie Holdridge Posted: 26/11/2011

No one ever said English was a straightforward language. No sooner have you learned one rule than you are presented with all the exceptions. As dewy-eyed innocents, we were taught to put a before words beginning with consonants and an before those starting with vowels, only then to hear that the rule bends a bit before h-words.

Or does it?

OK, so sense dictates that we give words where the initial h is silent an honorary place with the vowel words (along with some abbreviations). But what of those people who still insist on putting an before such words as historical, hysterical, heroic, horrific and hotel – are they just horribly old-fashioned?

Does Jack Nicholson’s Johnny go mad in a hotel or an hotel? Is it a horrific film or an horrific film?

How does it sound?

It all comes down to pronunciation. There are some h-words no one would ever dream of putting an before, like horrible, happy, hospital or home.

But while you might use an before historical, you wouldn’t before history. Similarly, you may before habitual but would never before habit. So, what the heck?

It comes down to which syllable of the word is stressed. Try saying these words aloud and you’ll find that for those where you land more heavily on the first syllable, you fully pronounce (aspirate) the h. For these you would automatically use a. But where the first syllable is unaccented, the h tends to soften, or is lost altogether, making an seem natural – at least to some ears....

An on the wane

... But support for this an is on the wane. Both the Guardian and Telegraph style guides, as well as the Oxford Dictionary, advocate using a when the h is pronounced at all (‘a hotel, a historian, [a history]’). And etymologist Michael Quinion, himself a self-confessed ‘old-fashioned’ an user, points out younger people’s preference for a.

However, fogies with a fondness for an can at least still count on The Times style guide (‘prefer an hotel to a hotel, an historic to a historic, an heroic rather than a heroic’).

And Fowler’s Modern English Usage kindly acknowledges that ‘the choice of form remains open’.

Verdict: A half hit (halmost) Like the last drinker in the pub at closing time, this half-rule appears always on the verge of leaving and yet continues to hang on. Use the an+h form [in those examples where traditionalists cling on to it] if you wish, but know that you run the risk of appearing dated. And if you have an international readership, be warned: there’s little to no support for this habit in American English.

Let’s give the last word to Fowler’s: ‘[S]peakers who like to say an should not try to have it both ways by aspirating the h.’ So just know that you can’t have your an+h and aspirate it too. Hain’t it always the way?

Answer 14

My rule of thumb (which I can't prove/cite, but which I'm sure is correct) is to use an for any word that sounds like it begins with a vowel. Both "a history" and "a historian" begin with an H sound. If you slur it into 'istorian, then I would use "an" in spoken sentences (but as that's an incorrect pronunciation anyway you should definitely write it as "a historian."