I have a grammar question about a(an), and the letter (H)?

The choice of a or an depends on the following sound. The general rule is that an precedes a consonant sound, and a precedes a vowel. Thus, we say “a union” not “an union” even though “union” begins with the letter U; in the word union, the initial sound is a consonant, /j/ (the “y” sound), thus a is used.

The /h/ sound is a weak consonantal sound and prone to loss, to the point that it is has gone silent in some languages (like French, Italian, and Spanish), and even in some English words (like “herb” or “honor”—thus we say “an honor”, not “a honor”). Now, in words where the initial /h/ is pronounced, but in an unstressed syllable, some English speakers pronounce it lightly or not at all and thus use “an” before these words, “an historic”, being the most common and frequent example.

I would not consider this a matter of being correct or incorrect; it depends on how you speak. I say “a historic” (with a stressed “a” pronounced “ay”); there’s no /n/ sound in there, so writing “an historic” wouldn’t be accurate to how I use the language. But if you say it that way, there’s nothing wrong with writing “an historic”. That said, Wiktionary says that only around 6% of British speakers use “an” before an h-word beginning with an unstressed syllable, and the number is probably lower for Americans. It is something that was formerly more common, and is now considered largely archaic.

It’s easiest to stick the rule that a goes before a vowel sound, and an before a consonant (including /h/), but if you want to make an exception for certain h-words, that’s valid. But there is no black-and-white rule here.

@Demosthenes “A or an is usually remembered as depending upon whether the following word begins with a consonant (for using a) or a vowel (for using an).” You said just the opposite.

“AN” before a vowel, “A” before a consonant.

But you’re correct that “these indefinite articles are used according to the sound that starts the following word, not the letter. So, we say “a dog” and “a balloon” or “an urgent message” and “an ant” but also “a useless pen” and “an hour.” Some words, like historic, can follow either a or an.”

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/is-it-a-or-an

I missed the post you are referring to, but I doubt that its author ever wished someone an happy birthday.

@smudges Son of a bitch; I hate that we can’t edit our posts here. :( Completely ruins what I meant to say. Oh well, if you read my post, please read @smudges correction as well. (My examples are correct; I just stated the rule backwards, twice. Unbelievable).

@Jeruba Maybe if they speak Cockney English and wished them an ‘appy birthday.

It works to say, “Have a happy birthday.”

It also works to say, “It was an honorable thing to do.”

The difference is the word honorable has a silent H, but you pronounce the H on happy.

i before e except after c

never use a preposition to end a sentence with (sarcasm)

@Demosthenes <insert Muttley snigger here> You had the rest of the post so correct that I figured it had to just be a brain fart.

I always use “a historic” because I want to pronounce the “h”. If I use “an” the “h” sound disappears from “historic” when I say it.

@Demosthenes…. it’s “inconceivable!”