Indefinite Articles (a/an)
A or an? It's about the sound, not the letter. Plus when to use a/an at all.
එකක් ගැන කියද්දී, ඒක හරියටම කොයි එකද කියලා අහගෙන ඉන්න කෙනා දන්නේ නැත්නම් a හෝ an පාවිච්චි කරනවා. සිංහලෙන් "එකක්", "කෙනෙක්" වගේ. a ද an ද කියන එක තීරණය වෙන්නේ ඊළඟ වචනයේ මුල් ශබ්දයෙන්, අකුරෙන් නෙවෙයි.
a or an? Listen, don't look
It's the sound that matters, not the letter.
| a (consonant sound) | an (vowel sound) |
|---|---|
| a bus, a car, a big egg | an egg, an apple, an ugly shirt |
| a university ("you-") | an umbrella ("um-") |
| a European ("you-") | an hour ("our", the h is silent) |
| a one-way ticket ("wun-") | an honest man (silent h) |
| a hotel (h is pronounced) | an MBA ("em-") |
| a UN officer ("you-") | an SMS ("es-") |
When to use a/an
1. The first time you mention something
First mention
- Would you like a drink?
- I finally got a good job! 🎉
2. Jobs
3. "One"
a = one
- I'd like an orange and two limes, please.
- I need a kilo of sugar.
- once a week · Rs. 500 a kilo · 60 km an hour
4. What a…! / such a…
Exclamations
- What a lovely day!
- What a shame!
- She's such a nice person.
When NOT to use a/an
- With plurals:
aphones → some phones - With uncountable nouns:
anadvice → some advice. See countable and uncountable. - With my, your, this:
a myfriend → a friend of mine
Quick check
Tap an answer. Nothing is saved.
I'll be there in hour.
Kids wear uniform to school.
Nimali is accountant.
Can I get information about the trains?
I'll send you SMS.
Finished this one? Tick it off. It is saved on this device only.