university 前用＂a＂還是＂an＂

　　在課上有學(xué)生問(wèn)我　大學(xué)UNIVERSITY　前是用　"a" 還是用　"an"?

　　大多數(shù)人認(rèn)為這個(gè)問(wèn)題很簡(jiǎn)單.當(dāng)然是用"an"了，我說(shuō)為什么呢?　他們回答說(shuō)因?yàn)閁NIVERSITY　是以元音　U開(kāi)頭的，所以要用"an".　到底哪個(gè)是正確的呢?

　　我查了幾個(gè)國(guó)內(nèi)的語(yǔ)法書(shū)，很多只是告訴你答案卻不告訴你為什么這樣.只是讓我們?nèi)ニ烙浺粭l規(guī)則.那么我們來(lái)看看美國(guó)人是如何來(lái)回答這一問(wèn)題的：)

　　We use a before singular count-nouns that begin with consonants (a cow, a barn, a sheep); we use an before singular count-nouns that begin with vowels or vowel-like sounds (an apple, an urban blight, an open door). Words that begin with an h sound often require an a (as in a horse, a history book, a hotel), but if an h-word begins with an actual vowel sound, use an an (as in an hour, an honor). We would say a useful device and a union matter because the u of those words actually sounds like yoo (as opposed, say, to the u of an ugly incident). The same is true of a European and a Euro (because of that consonantal “Yoo” sound). We would say a once-in-a-lifetime experience or a one-time hero because the words once and one begin with a w sound (as if they were spelled wuntz and won).

　　Merriam-Webster's Dictionary says that we can use an before an h- word that begins with an unstressed syllable. Thus, we might say an hisTORical moment, but we would say a HIStory book. Many writers would call that an affectation and prefer that we say a historical, but apparently, this choice is a matter of personal taste.

　　大家看清楚了沒(méi)有，原來(lái)是因?yàn)榇髮W(xué)的第一個(gè)字母發(fā)/ju:/,而/j/是個(gè)輔音.

　　看多了國(guó)外人講的語(yǔ)法發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)問(wèn)題，很多國(guó)內(nèi)很牛的語(yǔ)法書(shū)差不多都是把國(guó)外人講的翻譯了一下而已.而且還變的面目可憎.失去了語(yǔ)法的趣味性.所以還是建議大家直接去看原版的語(yǔ)法書(shū)。