Which sentence is correct?
I performed a reliability analysis.
or
I performed an reliability analysis.
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1See Purdue OWL: How to Use Articles (a/an/the)– user3169Mar 7, 2016 at 20:53
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3 Answers
Your first sentence is correct:
I performed a reliability analysis.
The choice between a and an has nothing to do with the noun. It is entirely dependent on the sound that comes after the indefinite article.
a whole hour.
a tropical island.
an honourable solider.
If the next word after the indefinite article starts with a consonant sound, the indefinite article needs to be a.
If the next word after the indefinite article starts with a vowel sound, the indefinite article needs to be an.
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5I just wanted to reiterate that it's based on whether or not the word begins with a vowel sound, not an actual vowel, as the last example in this answer demonstrates. I've seen this trip people up before, even native speakers.– Nathan KMar 7, 2016 at 21:30
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@NathanK In some cases you'll see people choose what looks like the wrong one of a/an because an initial consonant is silent in their dialect but not yours, or vice versa. (I can't think of an example right now.)– zwolMar 7, 2016 at 21:45
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@zwol, something I see a lot in electronics is different a/an use depending on how people speak acronyms. I prefer to say SPI as "es-pea-eye", so I use "an" before it, other people say it as "spy", so they don't. There are probably other examples with acronyms.– AustinMar 7, 2016 at 22:16
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@Austin: There sure are, the one that comes most readily to my mind is "LED". A led or an L E D. Mar 7, 2016 at 22:38
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@zwol I wasn't really referring to differences in dialect or acronyms (or they get it wrong for their own dialect). "Herb" is a good example. In BrE the 'h' is usually pronounced while it's usually silent in AmE.– Nathan KMar 8, 2016 at 13:59
Whether or not use use "an" depends on the word that directly follows the article.
If the initial sound of that word is a vowel sound, we use "an." Otherwise, we use "a."
For your sentence, it would be
I performed a reliability test.
because "reliability" does not start with a vowel sound.
Whether you use a or an entirely depends on the word directly after the a/an.
An analysis
A reliability analysis
An accurate reliability analysis
etc.
