Use Of The A And An Questions Medium
The rule for using "A" or "An" before words starting with a silent "y" is to use "An" when the following word starts with a vowel sound, and to use "A" when the following word starts with a consonant sound. The pronunciation of the word determines whether to use "A" or "An," not the spelling. For example, we say "an honest person" because "honest" is pronounced with a silent "h" and starts with a vowel sound, while we say "a yellow shirt" because "yellow" is pronounced with a consonant sound.