About this word

An is an interrogative particle.

It causes eclipsis, when followed by an ecliptable consonent.

In all tenses apart from the past:

• It is used with all verbs; regular and irregular.

In the past tense:

• It is used with certain, but not all, irregular verbs. (The particle ar is used with the others.)
• It is never used with regular verbs. (The particle ar is used with these.)

Notes

Its spelling and general pronunciation are the same as those of the definite article, an.

The initial vowel sound is /ə/ (sometimes nearer /ɛ/ or /ɪ/ when conditioned by following palatelisation) rather than /ɒ/.

This difference, which might seem trivial on first consideration, is similar to that between the two vowel sounds in the English word 'upon'. Try swapping those and see how it sounds.