Search results for 'tag:Countable nouns tag:Indefinite articles' matching tags 'Countable nouns' and 'Indefinite articles'

Re: indefinite article before a gerund

Cool Breeze — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:49:43 GMT

I am not sure if the following answers your question but I'll say it anyway. Some grammarians don't distinguish between verbal nouns (= complete nouns formed from verbs with the ing ending) and gerunds (= words that are neither verbs nor nouns but resemble both to some extent). Some apply the term "gerund" to both of them. Perhaps your confusion arises from that?

A verbal noun really is a noun in that it can assume all the characteristics any countable noun has. This means that it can have an article, an adjectival attribute (or more than just one) and it can occur in the plural:

The correct speaking of English is easy.

His old writings don't interest me.

Perhaps some of the "gerunds" that bother you or arouse your interest belong to this category? Mixing in your post certainly does.

Some verbal nouns have become part and parcel of the language and are included in dictionaries, like "beginning" for example. In some cases you have a choice: a happy end/ending.

Gerunds can't be preceded by an article or an adjectival attribute because they are not full-fledged nouns. They bear some resemblance to verbs: they can take an object:

Speaking English correctly is easy.

Re: NOUN

Believer — Fri, 30 May 2008 23:55:17 GMT

Thank you, Avangi.

In my previous post, I should have used third-person verb tenses, 'sounds' and 'gives' -- proper subject-verb agreement wasn't made due to my carelessness.

Going back to your request for examples of cases where I would feel something in quotes could not be used with an indefinite article becauss of its semantic meaning, I would have say that I can't think of any at this point in time.

Do you think anything in quotes is good a candidate as a typical (known-to-be??) uncountable noun?

Thank you.

NOUN

Believer — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:12:14 GMT

Hi,

It has been known to me that a gerund can function as a noun and should or likely to be treated more as an uncountable noun than a countable noun.

Mixing of sugar and flour makes this dough ...

If you want to be specific, I think you could write:

The mixing of sugar and flour makes this dough ...

If you want to indicate the mixing being an instance of it or an example of it, you could write (I think) like this:

A mixing of sugar and flour makes this dough ...

It could be more clear if you write this though (but the above example seems to be correct grammatically too):

An instance of sugar and flour makes this dough ...

It has been to me that a quoted content (I may be wrong but what I call a quoted content is one that has quotation marks around it, whether or not they are done to quote someone's words or to highlight a word/words) can be treated an uncountble noun too.

"-ing" is not needed in your sentence. -- Just the mention of a case to highlight, I think.

The "-ing" is not needed in your sentence. -- Not just mentioning but specificallymentioning, I think.

A "-ing" is not needed in your sentence. -- An example of "-ing" use or an instance of "-ing" use, but this is what gives me trouble. I think whether a word in quotation marks can accommodate an indefinite article is predicated on whether its semantic meaning can embrace it.

So, I think I would be able to say, depending on words, some words that are in quotation marks can accommodate its having an indefinite article, whereas some words that are in quotation marks can't accommodate the use because its semantic meaning and how it is used in sentences make it awkward at best if not wrong to have an indefinite article. Sounds plausible?

Sorry for a long post.

the word "lack" countable or uncountable

Anonymous — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:35:16 GMT

Hi there,

I am from an asian country (korea) and Korean doesn't distinguish countable or uncountable nouns so I have some problem with this concept even though I have been living in english speaking country for 10 years.

Now the word "lack" according to the online Longman dictionary is an uncountable noun, as well as a singular noun.

But we usually say "a lack of quality" or "a lack of resources".

Now we know for sure we never put "a" in front of "water" because "water" is an uncountable noun, as in "furniture" or "stuff".

So how is it that word "lack" can have an indefinite article in front of it?

Does it mean that the English language lacks logic inherently?

Thanks.

Re: number as adjective or sort of determiner

Believer — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:23:20 GMT

Thank you, CB. I might have been confused since I was trying to digest too much information in a too short period of time. (That does sound lame, doesn't it?)

Why is the definite article seems correct to be placed here but an indefinite article doesn't seem to correct to be placed there? I think in most cases, 'a' can be easily replaced with the word 'one'. If 'the' can be used with the countable noun 'apple', it seems logical to assume 'a' can be used in a right situation too.

(to borrow your sentence that served as the corrected sentence of mine)

It is a gigantic apple you've ve got in your hand, but I like the one gigantic apple you had in your hand yesterday.

Always appreciate your help.

Re: mass noun and count noun

Yoong Liat — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:08:58 GMT

Hi Jackson

5: As name suggests a count noun is countable, then how can one use indefinite article a or an with it?

In grammar, 'countable' means that you can count the noun concerned. For example. an egg, one egg, two eggs, etc.

'Uncountable' means that particular noun cannot be literally counted. For example, one money, two monies, two sand, two sands.

Some may say some uncountable nouns can be counted. For example, one dollar, two dollars, two plates of rice, two cups of water, etc. But here you are counting 'dollars', 'plates' and 'cups', which are countable nouns.

I hope the above answers your question.

Best wishes

Re: genitive as a noun

Believer — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:24:40 GMT

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 ground." Please note that it is a shaking in what seems to be a countable noun form.

Can you give me your expertise in this matter?

1. Why can some genitives have the indefinite article "a" like the genitive noun word "shaking"?

2. At the same time, why don't I never seem to have encountered a plural form of the word "shaking" as "shakings"?

3. Here, "with shouting, yelling and swearing, the motorists ...," would you say the phrase "with shouting, yelling and swearing" is correctly written? If it is correctly written, then what kind of noun are they? My dictionary seems to note that "shouting" is a countable noun but for the two others, I am not sure.

Thank you.

some rule about using articles

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 10:35:59 GMT

Hi,

There is an entry in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary about usage of indefinite article:

used before uncountable nouns when these have an adjective in front of them, or phrase following them:
a good knowledge of French
a sadness that wonât go away

However, just came across this example:
It takes true grit (U) to stand up to a bully.

So, I guess, the rule above is more of a guideline than a rule?

Re: A doubt!

Clive — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 23:08:15 GMT

Hi,

Consider this sentence.

He has a very good knowledge.

What is the function of the aritcle 'a' in the sentence?
( I know that the articles can function as adjectives but never as adverbs..Well, the case here is different, isn't it?....Can an indefinite article modify an uncountable noun? )

Article use can be difficult to learn, and to explain, as you perhaps are aware. Let me offer a few comments.

We don't say 'He has a knowledge'

We do say 'He has a knowledge of French, but he does not have a knowledge of Russian or a knowledge of Chinese.' In this context, we are thinking of and speaking of several kinds of knowledge.

We don't do this with the plural , eg we don't say He has knowledges of Spanish and Japanese.

We wouldn't normally say the sentence you are offering as an example, because it does not specify a type of knowledge. However, we could readily say He has a very good knowledge of English.

Best wishes, Clive

A doubt!

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 22:43:02 GMT

Hi!

Consider this sentence.

He has a very good knowledge.

What is the function of the aricle 'a' in the sentence?
( I know that the articles can function as adjectives but never as adverbs..Well, the case here is different, isn't it?....Can an indefinite article modify an uncountable noun? )

I am quite confused!

Please help me out!!

Thanks for your time..