"""A"" or ""An"" before univalate == 

 Can I pick your brains again (or those of your talk page stalkers). In the sentence ""A univallate Iron Age hillfort which has been investigated three times"" should it be ""A"" or ""An"" to begin? I've been having discussions about which English grammar rules apply eg ""An umbrella"" or ""A university"" & whether it is the sound of the ""u"" or the whole word which makes the difference?—    

 :I'm going to say that it depends on whether the following word starts with either a consonant or a vowel.  If the former, then ""A"" would be correct; the latter ""An"" would be the one to use. In this instance, I would suggest ""An"" is correct.    

 ::""He got an F on his report card. It took an hour for him to explain it.  He told his teacher that a unicorn ate his homework."" That is a nice rule, but there are so many exceptions, I would have come here and asked as well.  My guess is ""a"", but that is only a guess, based on the unicorn rule.     
 :::This seems to agree with me. the ""Y"" sound is why ""a"" is used.  Assuming I'm pronouncing that word correctly.     

 :::: Agree with you, Dennis, - like ""a university"", it goes by sound,    

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