I'm a student: don't forget “a” and “an”

The rule

Use a or an before one job or one thing you can count: I'm a student. She's an engineer. Use an before a vowel sound: an hour, an English teacher.

Arabic has no word for a, and French drops it with jobs (je suis étudiant), so many learners say I am student. English needs the article.

Examples

In a conversation

A: What do you do?

B: I'm a student. I study IT.

A: Nice! I'm an accountant.

B: Is your sister a student too?

Practice

Choose the best answer. The answers are at the end of the lesson.

1. My father is ___ taxi driver.
   • a) a
   • b) an
   • c) —
2. She wants to be ___ architect.
   • a) a
   • b) an
   • c) the
3. Ali and Sara are ___.
   • a) a teachers
   • b) teachers
   • c) an teachers

Tip

No a with plurals: They are nurses. And an follows the sound, not the letter: a university, an hour.

Answers

1. a) a. Taxi starts with a consonant sound: a.
2. b) an. Architect starts with a vowel sound: an.
3. b) teachers. No a or an with plurals.

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