By Abstract nouns

Ok, I think I have to just accept that it is how it is...to me, leaving out the article was so astonishing here because in "evening of a hot day", the evening is defined. And obviously this phenomenon occurs more frequently when the abstract noun is subject or at the beginning of the sentence....

CB, I hate to disagree, because your comments are always so very helpful and appropriate, and you are such a valuable resource on the forum. Nevertheless, I don't think any poetic license whatever is involved here. I believe the explanation lies elsewhere. The sentence in question sounds...

It doesn't work to omit the article with big tower because tower is a concrete noun. It works to omit the with evening because evening is an abstract noun. (You can't actually touch an evening as if it were an object.) Abstract nouns in English very frequently appear without an article,...

Should I just accept the fact some uncountable nouns, especially those that have abstract meanings, do not go well or don't not fit with a verb showing possession such as 'have'?Yes, you probably should accept that. It's probably a lot easier to memorize idioms with have plus a noun than to...

Grammar Geek wrote:Sales is used for the abstract noun meaning "relating to selling." Even if the person is responsible only for one product or one customers, the title is still sales engineer. You could, I suppose, tease a co-worker by calling him a "sale engineer" if he had only one client,...

Sales is used for the abstract noun meaning "relating to selling." Even if the person is responsible only for one product or one customers, the title is still sales engineer. You could, I suppose, tease a co-worker by calling him a "sale engineer" if he had only one client, but you would be...

Dear Yankee,Since you searched for 'an advice', the hit count is different. Google "advices" and you should find ~6,000,000 hits. The point that I have been trying to make is the countable/uncountable nature of an abstract noun. So not only the use of articles but also pluralization would be...

Hi again, If some uncountable abstract nouns can become countable depending on context and some cannot (i.e., forever stay uncountable), then what is the trick or the rule of thumb that I can use to separate them ? I'm inclined to think there is no such trick. That's why learning a language is...

Hello Clive,Thank you for your input. However, I now feel uneasy. If some uncountable abstract nouns can become countable depending on context and some cannot (i.e., forever stay uncountable), then what is the trick or the rule of thumb that I can use to separate them ? If Google hits certainly...

Shouldn't there be a source, from which we, ESL learners, can learn abstract nouns' nuances?ThanksHoa ThaiGoogle for 'abstract nouns' and you should be able to find whatever you want to know about abstract nouns.