In regard to the use of the indefinite article, Walker’s Dictionary very judiciously says,—

“This indefinite, and, as it may be called, the euphonic article, is said by all our grammarians to be used before a vowel or h mute; but no notice is taken of using a instead of an before what is called a vowel, as, a useful book, a useful ceremony, a usurer, &c.; nor is any mention made of its constant usage before h when it is not mute, if the accent of the word be on the second syllable, as, an heroic action, an historical account, &c. This want of accuracy arises from a want of analyzing the vowels, and not attending sufficiently to the influence of accent on pronunciation. A proper investigation of the power of the vowels would have informed our grammarians that the letter u, when long, is not so properly a vowel as a semi-consonant, and perfectly equivalent to commencing y, and that a feeling of this has insensibly influenced the best speakers to prefix a to it in their conversation, while a confused idea of the general rule, arising from an ignorance of the nature of the letters, has generally induced them to prefix an to it in writing. The same observations are applicable to the h. The ear alone tells us that, before heroic, historical, &c., the an ought invariably to be used; but, by not discovering that it is the absence of accent on the h that makes an admissible in these words, we are apt to prefix an to words where the h is sounded, as, an horse, an house, &c., and thus set our spoken and written language at variance. The article a must be used before all words beginning with a consonant, and before the vowel u when long; and the article an must be used before all words beginning with a vowel, except long u; before words beginning with h mute, as, an hour, an heir, &c.; or before words where the h is not mute, if the accent be on the second syllable, as, an heroic action, an historical account, &c.” The few words in our language in which the h is mute are heir, herb, honest, honour, hospital, hostler, hour, humble, humour, and their derivatives.

O, or OH.

Oh should be used to express surprise, pain, sorrow, or anxiety. When the interjection is followed by a proper name, or as an exclamation of wishing the O should be employed singly, thus: O mother dear, Jerusalem! O Lord! O that I might find him.

ABLE and IBLE.

All English words, without regard to the source from which they have been derived, and those which come from Latin words ending in abilis or French ones in able, take the termination able in English, as, procurable, amendable, desirable, allowable, voidable, available, fordable, incontestable, &c.; but in words from Latin and French words terminating in ibilis or ible, then the ending will be ible in English. For instance: accessible, sensible, defensible, convertible, &c.

In words ending in ce or ge, the final e is preserved before the termination able, for the purpose of indicating the soft sound of the consonant, as in marriageable, chargeable, traceable, serviceable, &c.; but before the ending ible the final e of the primitive disappears, and there is no e before the termination. Examples: deducible, reducible, frangible, &c.

The following list of words in ible is here added; all others end in able:—