By Constructions, Indefinite articles

mass nouna noun (as sand or water) that characteristically denotes in many languages a homogeneous substance or a concept without subdivisions and that in English is preceded in indefinite singular constructions by some rather than a or an1: What is an indefinite singular construction?2: What...

Thank you, Eimai_Anglos. Are you saying a genitive cannot be made a countable noun or used as a countable noun? I think a guru has delivered expert advice on that aspect of grammar and I think it has been said a construction like "a shaking of a ground" means "an instance of shaking of a...

"He is a hero." is correct. "hero" is a noun, so it needs to be qualified by an article (in this case, the indefinite article). The second sentence construction would be correct only with an adjective instead of a noun, e.g. He is heroic.

Your phrasing and terminology are very confusing. So I am guessing on your questions. during the-period-after-the-surgery – The way you had it written, I see a conflict between “During” and “After”, unless there is something missing you didn’t tell us. I could say ” During the one-week...

1. I have encountered this phrase from a post and have been wondering what is the main element involved here? Can you make this kind of sentences at your will or are there any rules involved? during the-period-after-the-surgery I think the main "bone" of the phrase is "during the surgery." 2....

You are right, Paco. The word 'problem' is definitely a countable noun. That's why when I first encountered the expression 'have x problem -ing,' perhaps decades ago, I thought it's a rather unusual construction. This peculiarity compelled me to memorize the expression by rote then. Along the...

Thanks, Eagle, Paco, and MisterM for all your painstaking posts! Much to chew on. 1. It's odd that both your and K's dictionaries give this structure, which I seldom if ever hear. Maybe it's more common elsewhere. Sorry, all: I should have been clearer. I meant the ‘Child as he was…’...

Hi MrP and Casi Here's another article supposedly relating to our discussion, which I just skimmed it. Sounds the construction " in a part of the entry of the indefinite article a like this: A follows the adjectives as in many a, such a, what a! and the obsolete or dialectal each a, which a; it...

Hello Paco First, I should answer your previous question about the 'emphatic forms with no reasonable normal form'. My thought here is that it's perfectly idiomatic to say: 'You are too good a cook to sack.' —which looks like the same construction as 'this is too tough a question to answer'....

Well, let me see if I can attack your concerns in a sort of slap-dash fashion. First, let me collect our sentences: 1: She is a too clever woman to stay in so boring a job. 1a: She is too clever a woman to stay in so boring a job. 2: She is too clever a woman to stay in such a boring job....