Discussion
In the sentence below, a part is printed in bold. Choose the alternative that best replaces it. If no improvement is needed, choose ‘No correction required’.
The company has issued an unusual notice to all its employees.
Answer: C
Correct answer: an
The sentence is correct as printed. The choice between a and an follows the sound that begins the next word, not the letter. Unusual begins with the vowel sound uh, so it takes an. The contrast is with words spelt the same way at the start but pronounced with an initial yoo: a university, a uniform, a union, a useful tool, a European. The letter is identical; the sound is not. The reverse case is a silent h, where a consonant letter opens a vowel sound: an hour, an honest man, an heir, an honourable member. The same test applies to abbreviations sounded letter by letter: an MP, an SDM, an FIR, an LLB, because the names of those letters begin with vowel sounds. Reading the phrase aloud is the only reliable method.
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