What does this even mean? And shouldn’t it be a herb? (Not trying to correct you on it, I know you’re just quoting, but I can’t figure out how or why you would say an herb.)
A/an before a word is dependant on how the subsequent word is pronounced, not spelled. So for that sentence, the implication is that it’s pronounced closer to “erb”, thus “an” to precede instead of “a”. Another example that’s a bit counterintuitive is “one” being pronounced like “won”, so you’d get “a one time thing” rather than “an one time thing”.
What does this even mean? And shouldn’t it be a herb? (Not trying to correct you on it, I know you’re just quoting, but I can’t figure out how or why you would say an herb.)
In the US pronunciation the “h” is silent in “herb” so “an” is used as the following sound is a vowel. “an herb” in US English is correct
A/an before a word is dependant on how the subsequent word is pronounced, not spelled. So for that sentence, the implication is that it’s pronounced closer to “erb”, thus “an” to precede instead of “a”. Another example that’s a bit counterintuitive is “one” being pronounced like “won”, so you’d get “a one time thing” rather than “an one time thing”.
I’m aware of when to use “a” versus “an”, but I wasn’t aware that Americans don’t pronounce the “h”! It makes a lot more sense now, thanks!
…well, a little bit more sense, anyway - I’m still not sure what calling someone “a herb” actually means…