Question

Fill in the blank with suitable article if necessary. Benerjee is _____ honest man.

• A. a
• B. an
• C. the
• D. no article

Hint:

Pay attention to words where the initial letter (like 'h' in 'honest' or 'hour') is silent, as the article choice then depends on the sound of the next letter.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understand the rules for using indefinite articles ('a' and 'an').
The choice between 'a' and 'an' depends on the sound of the first letter of the word immediately following the article. Use 'a' before words that begin with a consonant sound. Use 'an' before words that begin with a vowel sound.

Step 2: Determine the sound of the word 'honest'.
The word \textit{honest} begins with a silent \textit{h}. The first sound is the vowel sound /ɒ/ (as in \textit{ऑट} in Hindi, or \textit{o} in \textit{orange}).

Step 3: Apply the rule to the blank.
Since 'honest' begins with a vowel sound, the indefinite article 'an' should be used. "Benerjee is an honest man."

Step 4: Evaluate the given options.
(1) a: Incorrect, as 'honest' starts with a vowel sound.
(2) an: Correct, as 'honest' begins with a vowel sound due to the silent 'h'.
(3) the: 'The' is a definite article. Here, we are referring to 'an' honest man in general, not a specific honest man.
(4) no article: Incorrect, as an article is required before a singular countable noun ('man') modified by an adjective ('honest').

Step 5: Conclude the correct option. The correct article to fill the blank is 'an'.