The rule follows pronunciation rather than spelling. The word "ONE" doesn't start with a vowel, but with a /w/, which is almost a vowel, but it is not quite...
原帖由 Dearkk 於 14-12-18 發表
Dee university ga wo 我讀
唔係the university
However, the rule follows pronunciation rather than spelling. While words like one and unicorn are spelled with initial vowels, the actual sounds are consonants (specifically, the labio-velar approximant [w] and the palatal approximant [j], often called semivowels). Therefore, these words use the articles for consonants:
A one-dollar note.
The (ðə) one-dollar note.
A unicorn.
The (ðə) unicorn.
Likewise, words like hour are spelled with initial consonants but actually sound as vowels, so they use the articles for vowels:
An hour.
The (ði) hour.
As others have mentioned, we don\'t follow the rule for the as rigorously as we do for a/an. There\'s some regional and personal variation, and we generally pronounce the with the long vowel (ði) when the word is stressed, regardless of the following sound.
The article \"an\" is based on pronunciation,
not on spelling.
- an experience
- a unique experience (The first letter in the word unique sounds like the word \"you\")
- an umbrella
- an ugly house
- a house
- an hour (The letter \"H\" is not pronounced at all in the word hour.)
- a half an hour
- a submarine
- an SOS (\"SOS\" is pronounced \"es-oh-es\")
- a bandit
- a one-armed bandit (The word one is pronounced the same as won
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