There are other words belonging to the same category–words with the same root–that begin with a silent h: Note that “hour” is pronounced exactly in the same way as “our”, and “heir” exactly like the word “air”. Those are the words with a silent h, which means you can totally ignore it! That’s why you can use the indefinite article “an” with them to link the sounds: an hour, an honest man, an honor (honour), an heir. So, what about these words that you see in the picture: hour, honest, honor (or honour) and heir (and their derivatives should I add!) ? Well, rejoice! So we will say “a hit”, “a hat” and “a hot-dog”. Let’s take this opportunity for a little reminder: you probably already know that the indefinite article in front of a word that begins with h will be “a” –not “an”– precisely because you pronounce the h. Can you feel a gentle breath on your hand? Then it means you managed to pronounce the h the English way. Try saying “hit”, “hat” or “hot” while holding the palm of your hand in front of your mouth. If it is the case for you, too, then you have to practice blowing softly as if you wanted to fog up a window or a mirror. Anyone learning English as a foreign language knows it: the English h must be pronounced and heard! This is not always easy when this h sound does not exist in the learner’s mother tongue, as is the case in French for instance.
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