A Historic or An Historic? Plus a One-Time, a User, a European

"A historic" is the more common choice today, and it is the one to use unless you naturally leave the h silent. Likewise, write "a one-time," "a user," and "a European," because each begins with a consonant sound ("w" or "y"), while "an hour" takes "an." The basics are in our guide to a, an and the in work emails.

1. A historic or an historic?

Merriam-Webster's dictionary entry for historic explains why people are unsure. Both historic and historical are occasionally found with "an," since the initial h was formerly left unpronounced. Now the h is heard, and "a" is far more common than "an," by a ratio of about 4 to 1 in American English.

Merriam-Webster's usage guide adds that a few words, such as historic and (especially in England) hotel, are in transition and may be found with either a or an. Its advice is to choose the article that best suits your own pronunciation. So:

• If you say "hi-STOR-ic" with the h, write "a historic."
• If you drop the h, "an historic" matches how you speak.

For a business reader, "a historic" is the safer default because most readers pronounce the h. The same applies to "a hotel," "a historical record," and "a hospital."

1.1. Historic or historical?

Since the question usually appears with this pair, one more point from the same Merriam-Webster entry. To avoid being corrected, use historical for matters relating to history (a historical society) and historic for things having great and lasting importance (a historic occasion). Example: "The merger was a historic moment for the company," and "We reviewed a historical sales record."

2. A one-time or an one-time?

It is "a one-time." Merriam-Webster says that sometimes a word begins with a vowel letter but sounds like it begins with a consonant, and its own example is "a one-time deal." You should still use "a" in this case.

The reason is sound. Merriam-Webster notes that "one" sounds as though it begins with a W. Cambridge also lists "a one-year-old child" among words that start with a vowel letter but a consonant sound.

Example: "This is a one-time fee, not a subscription." The same applies to "a one-on-one meeting" and "a one-page summary."

3. A user or an user?

It is "a user." Merriam-Webster names "useless" and "unicorn" as words that begin with a vowel letter but are voiced with an initial Y sound, so they take "a." Cambridge gives the same treatment to "a united group" and "a university."

User starts with the same "yoo" sound, so it follows the same rule. Example: "Each account needs a unique user ID" (not "an unique user ID," because unique also begins with the Y sound). This is our application of the sourced rule; the sourced words are useless, unicorn, united, and university.

4. A European or an European?

It is "a European." The word begins with the sound "yoor," a Y sound, which is a consonant sound, so the article is "a." The sourced examples are the same pattern as "a university" and "a unicorn": a vowel letter followed by a Y sound takes "a." We apply this to European ourselves; neither source lists the word.

Other words that work the same way: a euro, a eulogy, a utility, a unit, a usage guide, a one-time. Example: "We have a European client and a US client."

5. An hour and an honest mistake

The reverse also happens. Merriam-Webster says some words start with a consonant letter but sound like they start with a vowel, and gives "an hour." Cambridge lists "an hour" for the same reason. Merriam-Webster's list of h-words with a silent h includes heir, honesty, and hourly, and its sentence is "He was an honest man."

Example: "Allow an hour for the call" and "She is an honest reviewer." Most h words are not silent, so "a hotel," "a house," and "a head start" stay with "a."

6. Quick table

The table includes our own examples that follow the sourced rule; the rule itself comes from Merriam-Webster and Cambridge.

7. The one test that covers all of these

Say the next word out loud and listen to its first sound. Consonant sound (including "w" and "y"): a. Vowel sound: an. Merriam-Webster's own tip for any case is to say the word that follows the article out loud and decide accordingly. For the few words in transition, such as historic, either form can be acceptable, so choose the one that matches how you pronounce the word.