What determines if H will take article a or an is the vowel that follows it. If the vowel is a long vowel, diphthong or triphthong, it will take article An. Also, if the consonant that follows the vowel is not voiced or a glide, it will take article AN. For example, in HOUR, the vowel in word rendered the H useless because the last sound/r/ is so silent. But in HOUSE, /hauz/ the H is pronounced because the sound/z/ that follows /au/ is very voiced. Most H words that take article An have a very 'weak' consonant. Like HONOUR, the sound /n/ in between is weak.

Which one be English article again!? It's called the article "a" or "an"

Nickshrapnel:
It doesn't matter if the teacher is Yoruba or not, she clearly don't know that 'a' is used before words that we pronounce the letter 'h' for such as happy, house and 'an' is used before word where we don't pronounce the 'h' for such as hour, herb

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an herb na wah o....my teacher not try as I don't know this!

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Sleekbaby:
Please I need urgent and clear answer on this. An assignment was given to my niece to complete the following sentences with (a) or (an) and one of the questions is
-------------- happy girl.

I told her to fill it with (a) but the teacher marked it bad, I wrote on the book and asked if the "H" is silent in happy and she wrote back that it is a vowel.

I want to go there tomorrow but I want different views on it first.

Those teachers dey teach nonsense.

lasmile:
How about in the case of House, Hausa etc

A house, An hausa (h is silent)

meetmeonline:



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an herb na wah o....my teacher not try as I don't know this!

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Do they school you guys with American english in Nigeria? I used to think it was British. Anyways, you use 'a' herb when in America and 'an' herb in England.

/h/ is a voiceless vowel!

May God bless Dr Femi Odeyemi of the Department of English, Lagos State University.

Bifrost:



Tell them.

Although, my initial post may have been unnecessarily stereotyped. But truth is, linguistic interference is the problem with most ESL speakers. Yorubas have problems with letter 'h', especially in words beginning with 'h'. Some native Igbo speakers have problems with pronouncing words with clusters of consonants like 'r' and 'L'. The Hausas also have theirs.

But in this particular post, the lady in question should be more informed. It's a shame.

Tell a Yoruba to say this; ''Can her hair earn her an A'', and you'll get my point.

lol....igbos normally have issue with "r" since ages..I know that 1 for sure


But u really put fire on my tribe o.. Poor Yoruba

Lol

Isabella250:
Now i know the kind of ignorant people in this forum. Imagine an adult saying " An Happy". Is correct. Kai....

The right article to use is 'a happy girl' not 'an happy girl'. For more clarity, consult good dictionary with word usage, it is clear.

'An' only goes with vowel sounds eg A,E,I,O,U.

midnighter:


This is how my cousins used to come home from school with textbooks full of rubbish

It's not good that anybody can just wake up and write a textbook

Abi o. Are you Muslim?

Sleekbaby:
Please I need urgent and clear answer on this. An assignment was given to my niece to complete the following sentences with (a) or (an) and one of the questions is
-------------- happy girl.

I told her to fill it with (a) but the teacher marked it bad, I wrote on the book and asked if the "H" is silent in happy and she wrote back that it is a vowel.

I want to go there tomorrow but I want different views on it first.

Trust me, it's always "a happy..." in every standard variant of English.

The (H) is not silent AT ALL.

tfash96:
lol....igbos normally have issue with "r" since ages..I know that 1 for sure

Its not all Igbo just the ones from certain regions because of the dialect they speak

How to Live a Happy Life

DextrousDavid:
English sef.




Give her her book (correct)✓
Give him him book (wrong)x

I tire o

BlackAfrican:


Abi o. Are you Muslim?

No I just signed that thing because I wanted to comment on something

Yeah

Bigcowhorn:



I see you are up to your old game. Better go and sweep the dump you know as Lagos and leave good folks to talk their minds.

Yet, you and ur fellow savages wan die on top dis same dump, right?

Manaan:
What determines if H will take article a or an is the vowel that follows it. If the vowel is a long vowel, diphthong or triphthong, it will take article An. Also, if the consonant that follows the vowel is not voiced or a glide, it will take article AN. For example, in HOUR, the vowel in word rendered the H useless because the last sound/r/ is so silent. But in HOUSE, /hauz/ the H is pronounced because the sound/z/ that follows /au/ is very voiced. Most H words that take article have a very consonant. Like HONOUR, the sound /n/ in between is weak.

Wow

midnighter:


Its not all Igbo just the ones from certain regions because of the dialect they speak

so Igbos too have specie by specie.. Tell me those ones that are victims

midnighter:


Its not all Igbo just the ones from certain regions because of the dialect they speak

so Igbos too have specie by specie.. Tell me those ones that are victims ..

tfash96:
so Igbos too have specie by specie.. Tell me those ones that are victims

I'm not sure but I think anambra people are mostly the culprits...I've never heard anyone from Enugu, abia or ebonyi sounding like that

I think they have some "r" and "L" exchanges

iLegendd:


Let me explain it professionally.

H is a consonant, but its pronunciation starts with a vowel, so it goes with the article "an." This is only true if the "H" stands on its own. An H.

The phonetic transcription is / eɪtʃ /.

The initial vowel is / eɪ / which is found in the letter "A."

When the letter H is used with other letters to form a word, it loses the / eɪ / sound and the article "an" to the article "a."

So, it's an H (standalone), but a ha-ppy girl (h with other letters).

In some words, the "H" becomes silent like "herb, hour, etc." and the first vowel sound the word makes takes in the article "an."

A happy girl.
An (h)erb.
An (h)our.

Why "an herb?" Because the "h" is silent. Though, there are people who include it. In that case, the "H" isn't silent and it will be "a herb." Mostly British.

100% Americans will say, "An herb," but 50% of people in Britain will say, "A herb," while the other 50% say, "An herb."

Words that start their sounds with a vowel sound, no matter the spelling, goes with "an," while the ones that start their sounds with a consonant, no matter the spelling, goes with the article "a."

The moment you focus on the sound, not the spelling, you'll get the answer right. So, that's it.

I have written an English book all Nigerians need to read.

Can I download?
If yes, kindly provide me with a link.
Doyindayo0588@mail.com
Thank you

midnighter:


No I just signed that thing because I wanted to comment on something

Lol. What a terrible agreement to sign just to comment. Stay safe.

BlackAfrican:


Lol. What a terrible agreement to sign just to comment. Stay safe.

Lol abi... thanks

My dear, think very well before you go there to disgrace yourself. English is as confused as our country.
I saw someone up there saying that /h/ is a vowel only when it stands alone and he claimed to be professional in his explanation-hmmmmm.
While reading through my textbook today on places of articulation, I came across the glottal sound /h/. Glottal sounds are vowel sounds but function as consonant. Why? Because when pronouncing, there is no clear cut obstruction of air as in the case of other consonant sounds.

[quote author=iLegendd post=83251200]

Let me explain it professionally.

H is a consonant, but its pronunciation starts with a vowel, so it goes with the article "an." This is only true if the "H" stands on its own. An H.

The phonetic transcription is / eɪtʃ /.

The initial vowel is / eɪ / which is found in the letter "A."

When the letter H is used with other letters to form a word, it loses the / eɪ / sound and the article "an" to the article "a."

So, it's an H (standalone), but a ha-ppy girl (h with other letters).

In some words, the "H" becomes silent like "herb, hour, etc." and the first vowel sound the word makes takes in the article "an."

A happy girl.
An (h)erb.
An (h)our.

Why "an herb?" Because the "h" is silent. Though, there are people who include it. In that case, the "H" isn't silent and it will be "a herb." Mostly British.

100% Americans will say, "An herb," but 50% of people in Britain will say, "A herb," while the other 50% say, "An herb."

Words that start their sounds with a vowel sound, no matter the spelling, goes with "an," while the ones that start their sounds with a consonant, no matter the spelling, goes with the article "a."

The moment you focus on the sound, not the spelling, you'll get the answer right. So, that's it.

I have written an English book all Nigerians need to read.

I so love this, thank you so much.

Stargurl20:
The teacher is correct. It doesn't matter if the word starts with consonant, aw u pronounce from d start matters too. So the answer is AN!

You're totally wrong.

I'm a phonetic and diction instructor so let me educate you little.

Now the word "happy " begins with 'h' a constant sound hence it must attract article 'a' because the H is sounded. If you check the transcription in Bre standard dictionary, you ll see something like this /ˈhæpi/. As long as the H appears in the transcription, it must be sounded.

It is only words like "honour" that can take article an" because the "H" is silent hence it is pronounced with the vowel 'or' and in the transcription, you'll not find the 'H' rather youll see something like this /ˈɒnə/. The phonetic symbol in the beginning is the sound of 'or', middle one is 'nnnn' while the final symbol is called shuwa banana.

Hope it's clear enough

IjebuWarrior:


Yet, you and ur fellow savages wan die on top dis same dump, right?

No.1 Oko Baba Sule Street, Olodi Apapa. It's a brothel with curvy babe of all sizes. The best part is they are all Yoruba savages so you'll really love it there.

No need to go begging for addresses in Sexuality section all your needs are in that brothel. Knock yourself out bro.


Yoruba KWENU!!!

Na una get Lagos!!!

Sleekbaby:
Please I need urgent and clear answer on this. An assignment was given to my niece to complete the following sentences with (a) or (an) and one of the questions is
-------------- happy girl.

I told her to fill it with (a) but the teacher marked it bad, I wrote on the book and asked if the "H" is silent in happy and she wrote back that it is a vowel.

I want to go there tomorrow but I want different views on it first.

the both is correct...... "H" is a consonant which starts d spelling of d word "Happy" nd "A" is a Vowel which starts d word "Happy" pronunciation... So the both is correct. .....

tho, it's nt in d rule sha .....if we would go by d rule ...H dere isnt silent ...so "a" is correct ..A happy girl