She drugged the wine with an herb/ a herb … Which form is correct? Explain why?
British vs American English
10 answers from our tutors
Best answer
Actually, the vowels (aeiou) have little to do with the indefinite article a or an. It is the vowel sound that counts. Take the example of: university and umbrella. Although both words start with a vowel, we say a university but an umbrella. Similarly, we say an egg but a European girl! Herb in American English is pronounced /3:(r)b/ while in British English it is pronounce /h3:b/. Therefore, in American English, it is an herb because the letter h is silent, while in British English it’s a herb because the letter h is not silent. So the rule is: an + a vowel sound and not an + a vowel!
The correct answer is "an herb" because even though the noun starts with an H, the H is silent and the first sound is a vowel -er- dipthong (two vowels in a row or a vowel followed by r). It is not what the word looks like but the sound the word makes that determines if an article A (generally for consonant SOUNDS) or AN (generally for vowel SOUNDS) is used. Fun fact, even though U is a vowel, many of the words beginning with U have a Y pronounciation (like J in many European languages) so an article before words like uniform or university will have the A article instead of an AN article.
an herb because the letter 'h' is considered as a vowel, therefore an herb. Another example is an honest answer. I hope that helped.
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I'm American, so I don't pronounce the H. I say "urb", so I would naturally say "an herb". Nice little brain teaser for us.
- Cyn cynA certified English Expert
A herb
The answer is she drugged the wine with a herb. An is used with Vowels a, e, i, o, u. For example, Give me an Apple. An eye for an eye. A is used with consonants t, s, c, b e.t.c. For example, A chair. A Book. A is used before a consonant sound while an is used before a vowel sound.
She drugged the wine with a herb .
Herb is a consonant sound, so a herb.
- LouiseDFun and patient guide for your journey to fluency!
I can't speak for British English but in American English, we use "an" before words that begin with a vowel or sound like they begin with a vowel, even if they don't. Since "herb" is pronounced with a silent "h," you say "an herb" just as you would say "an apple" because the "e" of "herb" is the first sound you hear.
