A vs. AN.

Here are a few basic things to remember when asking yourself if you should use the indefinite article "a" or "an" when preceding a noun.

1- Use the indefinite article "a" before a singular noun that begins with a consonant sound.

A car
A table
A job
A bag

2- Use the indefinite article "an" before a singular noun that begins with a vowel sound.

An apple
An eye
An orange
An idea

3- Nouns that start with "H" and "U" can cause some confusion.

- If the "H" is silent, use the indefinite article "an".

An hour

- If the "H" is pronounced, use the indefinite article "a".

A helicopter

- If the "U" is pronounced as a vowel, use the indefinite article "an".

An umbrella

- If the "U" is pronounced as a consonant, such as in the sound "you", use the indefinite article "a".

A university


Here is a link to an exercise that might be of some use to you.

http://www.anglaisfacile.com/exercices/exercice-anglais-2/exercice-anglais-4547.php

ESL biography. Bob Dylan.

As I stated in my first post, this blog is a constantly evolving entity. One idea I had was the creation of a series of posts that would showcase the lives of certain artists, writers and personalities that I find interesting for various reasons.

So I'll take a moment to illustrate one such personality, Bob Dylan. Widely regarded as one of the leading artists of his generation, Dylan wrote some of the 1960's most memorable song lyrics.

This passage is from his song Like a Rolling Stone, written in 1965;

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?




Or how about this one from his 1963 classic, The Times They Are A-Changin'?

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.



If you're interested in learning more about Dylan, check out these links.


http://www.biography.com/articles/Bob-Dylan-9283052

http://www.bobdylan.com/

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bobdylan/biography