As many people that post on this forum seem to struggle with the correct usage of "a" and "an" I thought I would clarify. I am seriously not trying to insult anyone in particular, but it does distract me from taking some posts seriously. While someone may be able to point out some variant rule of grammar... this is going to correct 99% of the mistakes.
As a hard and fast rule "a" proceeds a word that starts with a consonant.
" The previous poster just told a joke."
"An" proceeds a word that starts with a vowel.
" The previous poster just shared an anecdote."
That is all...thanks.