Job Discussion Forums

[Conor_Ire]

What about,

An uniform.
An universal event.
An urine sample.
An used car.
An utility bill.

Theres more...

I'm about to teach some students about a/an, how should i explain these type of words without looking like a dodgy sales man.

[Apsara]

Point out that although those words are spelled with a 'u', they actually begin with a 'y' sound. Tell them they are exceptions (reigai) to the usual rule- Japanese people are used to the idea of exceptions, so this should be fine. Mention that words like "hour" (and "herb" if you're American) take "an" even though they start with a consonant- the first sound is a vowel, hence "an hour", not "a hour".

[Conor_Ire]

Regai! That saves alot of ''wakarnai'' talk!

Thank you.

[Glenski]

No! Do not say "regai" (exception).

Learn what the rules are in the first place. As mentioned above, it's not the letter itself that calls for 'a' or 'an'. It's the sound/pronunciation of the letter.

[Apsara]

Glenski has spoken. Reigai is a very bad word.

[drdo]

Hey, more on this...

With articles, there are other exceptions as well:
1. Use "an" before the unsounded h. For example:
an honorable judge
an honest error

2. When u makes the same sound as the y in you,
or o makes the same sound as w in won, then a is used. For example:
a university
a union
a unicorn
a used napkin
a U.S. ship
a one-legged man

As stated earlier, the choice of article is based on the phonetic (sound) quality of the first letter in a word, not on the orthographic (written) representation of the letter.

If the first letter makes a vowel-type sound, you use "an"; (like in "I got an MA in Physics from MIT.") The M has an em sound, thus needs the article 'an'. If the first letter would make a consonant-type sound, you use "a."

So, if you consider the rule from a phonetic perspective, there really aren't any exceptions to this rule, or so it appears.

Food for thought.

[Miyazaki]

[Glenski]

[guest of Japan]

The idea behind this particular grammar structure is actually for ease of pronunciation. Have the students practice both the correct way and the incorrect was while focusing on fluency in speech and they will find the the reason for the correct way themselves.

[ripslyme]

[parrothead]

I've got to agree with Glenski. Saying "reigai" is a bit of a copout. There are many more difficult concepts to teach than An vs A anyway. Also, if you are going to tell them that there are exceptions, why not teach them the word "exceptions" instead. Do your students a service. Isn't that why you teach?

[BobbyBan]

Yes, the explanation that the rule is based on the phonetic sound rather than the letter is the most important point about the form. Following that rule the "exceptions" given simply are not exceptions. Saying "reigai" to the students is worse than a copout it is wrong.

If there are any exceptions to the rule of a/an they are archaic ones and hardly worth teaching, if at all, such as when a plummy person says "I stayed in an hotel" or "It was an historic moment." I am not sure where those variants come from but I am pretty sure they are no longer used by anywhere near enough of the English-speaking population to make it worthwhile.

As for using Japanese in the classroom, my own view is that the English you use as a teacher and the "classroom English" that the students use between themselves and you as well as with other students is almost the most important English they will use because it is the only time they will actually use the English in its correct setting as opposed to roleplays and discouraging the students from using English by not using it yourself to explain things is like telling students to roleplay shopping in the classroom and then telling them not to bother with it when they actually go to America/Australia/New Zealand etc and find themselves in that situation.

[wintersweet]

Yes, I think telling them it's an exception will actually make it harder to remember, in this case.

[Conor_Ire]

HHmmmmmm.. Interesting , thanks for the answers. I also had a similar problem explaining why ''amn't'' isn't allowed. I learned that it's simply because it's hard to say. (Not for the Irish, thats why i couldn't understand why it was wrong when i was a kid.)

[BobbyBan]