used before a singular countable noun to talk about one person or thing that is not specific
A cat sat on the windowsill, watching the birds outside.
She bought a new pair of headphones yesterday.
✦ Old English ‘an’ meaning “one,” later shortening to ‘a’ before consonant sounds.
the first letter of the English alphabet
The word ‘apple’ starts with a.
Lucy traced a large a on the chalkboard.
✦ From Latin letter ‘A’, originally from the Phoenician alphabet symbol representing an ox head.
used between a number and a unit to mean “for each.”
The bus comes once a hour.
Tickets cost five dollars a person.
✦ Evolved from the indefinite article ‘a’ being used before measures in Middle English, influenced by Latin ‘per’.
