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Is it correct to say or write an student or an store?

apaderno
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Mysterion
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    How do you pronounce st? This doesn't feel natural. – Kobi Aug 16 '10 at 08:45
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    I've noticed that speakers of Tagalog, for instance, seem to have difficulty saying words beginning with an S consonant blend, preferring to say estore or estudent. – moioci Aug 24 '10 at 14:03
  • moioci: There is at least one Filipino speaker who doesn't have that difficulty you speak of. :) –  Aug 24 '10 at 14:39
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    moioci: I believe people around the world also do that. Since there is no word starting with s followed by consonant in Portuguese, people tend to think and speak like /ɪstɔːr/ instead of /stɔːr/ – Denilson Sá Maia Nov 17 '10 at 23:56
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    Ditto with Spanish. – Michael Lorton Feb 08 '11 at 08:18
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    Ditto with Hindi/Urdu speakers (i.e., they also tend to pronounce them istudent and iscore), but anyone with sufficient practice can cure themselves of this habit. – ShreevatsaR Feb 08 '11 at 09:06

2 Answers2

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Always use an for words which sound like they start with a vowel, and always use a for words which sound like they start with a consonant. The rules for h are more complex, and it can be ok to use either.

The usage of the indefinite article preceding h are discussed here. In particular, look at nohat's response.

As for student and store, they should always be preceded with a and never with an, because they both start with the consonant /s/ when spoken.

Correct:

A student, a store

Incorrect:

An student, an store

Community
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Vincent McNabb
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The quickest way to remember the rule for this: "an hour and a half". Thus, "a" for something with an initial consonant sound, and "an" otherwise.