one vs. a vs. an

 

Difference between one, a, and an one We use “one” when it is necessary to state the number; basically, we use it to emphasize that it is one and not two, three, or four.  Examples: “One of the coats is stained, so I had to bleach it.” “One lady will be chosen from these tough contenders to represent the country.” “a/an” is used when there is no need to emphasize that it is only one. So how to know whether to use  “a” or  “an”? a “a” is the correct article to use before words that start with a consonant. Examples: “I have a bag of chocolates.” “She is a great performer.” “Dad bought me a new smartphone yesterday.” Aside from words that start with a consonant, “a” is also used before words that start with a vowel but sound like a consonant. Examples: “What a useless pen!” (useless is pronounced yuseless) “It's a unicorn.” (unicorn is pronounced yunicorn) an “an” is the article to use before words that start with a vowel. Examples: “She is holding an orange.” “Teddy wants an ice cream.” “an” is also used before words and initials/acronyms/abbreviations that start with a consonant but sound like a vowel. Examples: “I need an hour to finish this.” (hour is pronounced our) “She needs an X-ray.” (X-ray is pronounced ex-ray) “An FBI agent is here.” (the letter F is pronounced ef)