Tips for Grammar

[Pirate]

Hello everyone,

This is one part of the series "Tips for learning English". The series is today created in the sake of collecting and assembling tips which come from English learners. Post your own tips which really work Other members can learn from them, and if necessary we could discuss

You are in the GRAMMAR section .

What is grammar? Is it important? Let's have a look @ http://grammar.englishclub.com/grammar-what.htm
...
By the way, there is a discussion for you Grammar is a waste of time!


"Every English poet should master the rules of grammar before he attempts to bend or break them."
Robert Graves (1895 - 1985)

Learning English forum 2004

[Mikelos Maxairitsas]

If you are having a hard time deciding which singular article to use (a or an), remember that 99% of the time, 'a' is used if the word that follows the singular article begins with a consonant, and 'an' is used if the word that follows the singular article begins with a vowel. Most of the exceptions to this rule are words that begin with the letter 'h', or individual letters. For example:

"Joey, did you complete a hypothesis for your project?"
"Joey, did you complete an hypothesis for your project?"

In this case, either 'a' or 'an' can be used.

"In this sentence Joey, you need an 'S' at the beginning of the paragraph."

Here, we see that even though 's' is a consonant, its article is 'an'. If you can remember these simple rules, you will have the 'a' and 'an' issue sorted out!

[Pirate]

The use of a or an is actually very easy. "An" makes better sound when we meet a vowel sound, not a word that begins with a vowel (u,e,a,o,i). It's like a liaison.
For example,
an 'S' /es/ * an 'M' /em/ * an 'L' /el/ * an 'N' /en/ ...
an hour /pronounced like 'our'/
a university /ju:nee 'ver si ti/
a one-time hero (because 'one' begins with 'w' sound - wunt)
...
For problems with words that begins with 'h', it's like this :
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary says that we can use an before an h- word that begins with an unstressed syllable. Thus, we might say an hisTORical moment, but we would say a HIStory book. Many writers would call that an affectation and prefer that we say a historical, but apparently, this choice is a matter of personal taste.

[thinlion]

hi everybody
can you tell me about different between "degree" and "degrees"
thanks a lot

[Pirate]

I suggest asking about English at the ESL help desk.

Yes, that's right!