Spoken English Part 17

A and AN

We use A/AN (articles) with singular countable nouns.

My brother has a dog and my sister has a cat.

There is an accident on the corner.

A is used when the next word starts with a consonant sound.

A book

A guitar

A friend

A university (The start of the word university sounds like YOU, a consonant sound).

AN is used when the next word starts with a vowel sound.
An apple

An ice-cream

An orange

An hour (the letter H in this word is silent so it sounds like it starts with a vowel).

Some and Any
We use SOME and ANY with plural nouns and uncountable nouns.

Some is generally used in positive sentences.

Any is generally used in negative sentences.

I have some information for you about flights to Paris.

(Positive - Uncountable)

I don't have any information for you about flights to Paris.
(Negative - Uncountable)

We met some friends for drinks after work yesterday.
(Positive - Plural Countable)

I didn't see any friends there on Thursday.
(Negative - Plural Countable)

I think he will have some time to speak to you today.
(Positive - Uncountable)

I don't think he will have any time to speak to you today.
(Negative - Uncountable)

You can also use SOME and ANY in a sentence without a noun if the meaning of the sentence is clear.

I didn't eat any salad but Peter ate some. (salad)

Sean took lots of photos of the mountains but Emma didn't take any. (photos)