So this question has turned to 'How to indicate an in xpath' webdriver xpath. Improve this question. Follow edited Oct 9 '12 at 2:55. Asked Oct 8 '12 at 13:07. Bruce Sun Bruce Sun. 203 1 1 gold badge 2 2 silver badges 8 8 bronze badges. Answer: When browsing the web, you may occasionally run into pages with somewhere in the text. You may even see multiple 's grouped together. This looks pretty odd, but there is a good explanation for it. NBSP stands for 'No-Break SPace.' Hi Robin, the very best odor absorbant I have found is Charcoal bbq bricquettes. You can buy them in a 5 or 10 lb. Back at the grocery stores now. A or AN This worksheet is suitable for practicing the indefinite article. Also, it has a vocabulary part. The students have to choose between 'a' or 'an', depending on the given word.
Some Unusual Cases
The sound not the spelling determines a/an usage.
| A |
|---|
Using a or an depends on pronunciation, which may vary among speakers of English around the world. Words beginning with h, u, w and y need special attention. Pronouncing the word helps us decide which article to use. |
| BEFORE A CONSONANT SOUND |
a baby, a lemon, a car, a kiss |
| BEFORE AN H SOUND IN A STRESSED SYLLABLE |
a housewife,a hurricane, a history, a horror movie, a helicopter, a hanger, a handkerchief, a herb /hɜrb/Eng-Br |
| BEFORE AN H SOUND IN AN UNSTRESSED SYLLABLE |
a hotél, a horrífic event, a histórical event, a hystérical moment, a hypóthesis (The use ofa/anvaries depending on whether one speaks a dialect in which thehis pronounced oris silent in these words.) |
| BEFORE A W SOUND |
a one-hour break /wʌn–/, a wonderful life, 'not aone' |
| BEFORE A Y SOUND |
a university /yu-/, a unit, a eulogy, a youth, a yellow submarine |
| AN |
|---|
An is used before words with silent initial letters and with some letters and numbers. Syllable stress in words of multiple syllables also affects a speaker's choice of a or an. |
| BEFORE A VOWEL SOUND |
an apple, an eye, an opening, an urn, an initial |
| BEFORE SILENT H IN A STRESSED SYLLABLE |
an hóur, an hónor, an hónest man, *an hérb /ɜrb/Eng-US |
| BEFORE SILENT H IN AN UNSTRESSED SYLLABLE |
an ho-tél, an hor-ríf-ic event, an his-tór-ical event, an hys-tér-ical moment, an hy-póth-e-sis (The use ofa/anvaries depending on whether one speaks a dialect in which thehis pronounced oris silent in these words.) |
| BEFORE SOME NAMES OF LETTERS |
an MP, an NAACP resolution, give me an A, give me an R, give me an S Before vowel names—a, e, i, o u—and consonant names—f, h, l, m, n, r, s, x. |
| BEFORE SOME NUMBERS |
an 800 number, an 11-person group, |
*herb /hɜrb/ Eng-Br, /ɜrb/ Eng-US (N) – a small plant that is used to improve the taste of food or to make medicine
honour Eng-Br, honor Eng-US (N)
historic– an important event / historical–an event in the past Adjective Forms | Pop-Q 'historical'
A Or An Rule
World Wide Words 'The situation is complicated by a shift that has been taking place in the pronunciation of words with initial h over the past couple of centuries.'
A Or An Before H
'a/an'. Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. Springfield, Massachusetts, 1993. p. 1.