Meaning & use
a
Last updated
Meanings
determinerbefore a noun
Used before a singular countable noun when the speaker does not expect the listener to know which one.
Grammar: Use a before consonant sounds and a before vowel sounds: a book, a university, an hour.
Patterns
- a book/car/problem
- a good idea
- have a question
- need a break
She bought a used bicycle from a neighbor.
There is a meeting after lunch.
He has a calm way of explaining things.
determinerbefore a noun
Used with once, twice, etc. and time nouns to mean in each or every period.
Grammar: It fixes a rate: twice a week means two times in each week, not two total weeks.
Patterns
- once a day
- twice a week
- three times a year
- 60 miles an hour
The nurse checks the dosage once a shift.
We video call twice a month.
The train averages about 80 miles an hour.
determinerbefore a noun
Used before some uncountable nouns, often with an adjective, to mean one kind, example, or amount.
Grammar: This usually needs an adjective or fixed phrase: a good education, not an education as a mass noun.
Patterns
- a good education
- a deep sadness
- a knowledge of something
- a coffee
The program gave her a solid knowledge of statistics.
He felt a quiet pride after finishing the repair.
They shared a coffee before the workshop.
determinerbefore a nouninformal
Used informally before a name to mean a person called that, often someone not known well.
Grammar: It suggests one example of a type: a Mr. Bell called implies some man named Mr. Bell.
Patterns
- a Mr/Ms Smith
- a certain Dr Lee
- a friend of mine
A Mr. Bell called while you were out.
A certain Dr. Lee signed the report.
She is a friend of my cousin.
Common combinations
- a lot of
- A lot of students volunteered at the library.
- a few
- We need a few more chairs for the panel.
- a little
- Add a little salt and taste the soup.
- a couple of
- I read a couple of chapters before bed.
- a kind of
- This is a kind of wild grass common near roads.
Word family
- an determiner
- The form used before vowel sounds: an apple, an hour.
Commonly confused: a or an? a or the?
a vs an
Use a before vowel sounds, even if the first letter is a consonant: an hour, an MBA.
a vs the
An is indefinite and nonspecific; the points to a particular person or thing already known.
Practice
Choose the best word: She waited ___ hour at the clinic.
Choose one answer.
Hour begins with a vowel sound, so an is correct. A fits consonant sounds, the would make the hour specific, and no article leaves the singular noun incomplete here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.