It’s a euro. The rule for using a or an is that we use a before a consonant and an before a vowel. But this rule is based on pronunciation, not spelling.
Sometimes, as in the case of euro, a word begins with a vowel in the spelling, but with a consonant in the pronunciation. Euro is pronounced you-roh, and y here is a consonant. It therefore takes a – just like other words that begin with a y, like year and yard.
Other words that begin with a vowel in the spelling but a consonant in the pronunciation, and therefore take a, include:
a European treaty
a Uruguayan soldier
a unit
a university education
a US spokesman
a unified theory
a euphemism
a Unilever product
a unique event
a universal principle
a United Nations official
a union official
a useful object
a one-day event
©2013 Baxter Publishing, Hilversum, The Netherlands
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