Grammar basics

Okay, people. Do you know what? I am getting really tired of hearing phrases like "an historic event." It was bad enough hearing it sparingly, but during and after the election, since it was a historic event, many people were using the phrase. Here's the rule, people:

The word "a" is used when it comes before a consonant sound (most often an actual consonant). Which means words like "tournament" or "chocolate" that start with a consonant have "a" in front of them. This also applies to the letter "u" when at the beginning of words like "university," when it sounds like the letter, or the letter "o" when in front of words like "one." This does not apply to words like "underwear" or "octopus," but only to words like "unibrow" or "one."

The word "an" is used when it comes before a vowel sound. In the English language, two vowel sounds in a row sounds awkward, which is why there is a word like "an" (or at the very least, it sounds that way when you listen to words). This means words like "apple" or "elephant" that start with a vowel get "an" in front of them. This also applies to the letter "h" when at the beginning of words like "hour," when the "h" is silent and the first sound is a vowel sound. This does not apply to words like "historic," but only to words like "honest."

Come on, people! This isn't rocket science, and it only exists to make things sound better. It isn't hard to do, and is better in the long run. Don't try and sound clever by using "an" in front of words that start with "h" just because there are words that do have "an" in front of them.