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Consider the following sentences:

I am staying in a hotel nearby.

I am staying in an hotel nearby.

I know that both are correct. But I would like to know why? I do not see any proper reason for the second one as the 'h' is not silent as in French. So, what could be the reason?

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3 Answers 3

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Style guides are divided on 'a' vs 'an' before a silent 'h'.

The general rule would be to follow the pronunciation of the dialect you are writing for.

If your audience would drop the aitch when speaking, use 'an'.

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  • Like I said, in all the various dialects that exist, 'h' isn't silent in hotel! (well maybe in a few, but not in the common ones, like British, American, Australian, Indian etc.)
    – Adil Ali
    Commented Mar 18, 2014 at 16:16
  • There absolutely are regional dialects that would pronounce hotel with a silent h. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
    – relaxing
    Commented Mar 18, 2014 at 16:19
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In written English, I think it's always ...

I'm staying in a hotel nearby.

Nevertheless, in any dialect (not sure AmE or BrE), if the initial /h/ is pronounced as a vowel, it will be...

I'm staying in an hotel nearby.

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  • I am sure of both being right, I have the 'Oxford A:Z of Grammar' book which says so.
    – Adil Ali
    Commented Mar 18, 2014 at 16:09
  • That is the problem. Hotel has a the 'h' pronounced both in American and British dialects. Then why does the book say that both are right?
    – Adil Ali
    Commented Mar 18, 2014 at 16:10
  • It's an old-fashioned rule. Some British dialects would say "an 'otel."
    – relaxing
    Commented Mar 18, 2014 at 16:16
  • Any reason for, as you say, 'dropping the h' ?
    – Adil Ali
    Commented Mar 18, 2014 at 16:25
  • Some commentary on the history of h-dropping: english.stackexchange.com/questions/23396/…
    – relaxing
    Commented Mar 18, 2014 at 16:35
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Honestly, many of the answers here miss the point. It has little to do with pronouncing the “h”, though it would of course always be “an hotel” if it not be pronounced.

Simply put, it is generally considered permissible, though not mandatory, to use “an” in front of words that start with /h/, but do not have their accent on the first syllable. So one can say “an heroic deed.” because the accent is on the second syllable, but not “an hero”, because the accent is on the firs syllable. “a heroic deed” is also acceptable.

https://www.writing-skills.com/hit-or-myth-use-an-before-h-words

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