[7] "Foundations," pp. 32-36.


EXERCISE IV.

_Put the proper form, "a" or "an," before each of these
expressions_:--Elephant, apple, egg, union of states, uniform, uninformed
person, universal custom, umpire, Unitarian church, anthem, unfortunate
man, united people, American, European, Englishman, one, high hill, horse,
honorable career, hypocrite, humble spirit, honest boy, hypothesis,
history, historical sketch, heir, hundred, hereditary disease, household.

THE or A.[8]--"The" is a broken-down form of the old English
_thoet_, from which we also get "that," and is used to point out some
particular person, thing, or class: as, "_The_ headmaster of _the_ school
gave _the_ boys permission." When "the" is used before the name of a
particular class of persons or things it is called the "generic" article
(from _genus_, "a class"): as, "None but _the_ brave deserve _the_ fair";
"_The_ eagle is our national bird."

"An" ("a") is a broken-down form of the old English word _ane_, meaning
"one." It is properly used when the object is thought of as one of a
class: as, "There is _an_ eagle in the zoological garden." It cannot
properly be used before a word which is used as a class name, because a
class name includes in its meaning more than "one."

SUPERFLUOUS and OMITTED ARTICLES.[9]--The use of a superfluous
"a" or "an" before a class name, especially after the words "sort" and
"kind," is a common and obstinate error. We may say, "This is an eagle,"
meaning "one eagle." But we may not say, "_An_ eagle is our national