What goes before h in a word?
A or an before H The rule of thumb for words beginning with “h” is to consider the way the word is pronounced. Words that have a silent “h” begin with a vowel sound, so they use “an. For words where the “h” sound is pronounced, such as hat, hotel, or hard, use “a. A and an are different forms of the same word, the indefinite article that often precedes a noun. A is used before a noun that starts with a consonant sound (e. An is used before a noun that starts with a vowel sound (e.