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

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: answer two questions please

Maple — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:10:54 GMT

Believer wrote:
1. I sometimes see those dedignated as uncountables in the dictionary that are mark with something like this, "a N," and I want to ask you whether that means an uncountable noun can accompany the indefinite article "a" and is it suppose to be a rare case? is the sentence below one of those cases?
It is way in which set aside a quite time and place. (Is the word "time" countable or uncountable?)

Maybe you've already known, Cambridge Dictionaries often can answer countable- or- uncountable questions best:

while means period (a particular period of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, etc. for which something has been happening, or which is needed for something, or which is available for something, ) time is either singular or uncountable.

(maybe others could generalize some principles...........

answer two questions please

Believer — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 14:40:57 GMT

Hi,

Help me with this.

1. I sometimes see those dedignated as uncountables in the dictionary that are mark with something like this, "a N," and I want to ask you whether that means an uncountable noun can accompany the indefinite article "a" and is it suppose to be a rare case? is the sentence below one of those cases?

It is way in which set aside a quite time and place. (Is the word "time" countable or uncountable?)

2. Can I put two "THEs" and will that be OK?

We recommend (the??) early evening and (the??) late evening.

Re: Countable Or Uncountable?

paco2004 — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 11:56:17 GMT

Hello Infinity.

I'm a mere English learner from Japan, but could you allow me to throw my 2 cents on your question?

Frankly speaking, I'd say you'd better give up the hope you could get a conclusive answer to the question. I have raised a similar question before in this forum but I could not get enough persuasive responses (Post:56071).

As for some nouns (especially substantive nouns), English distinction between countable/uncountable seems mostly reasonable cross-linguistically. But for some nouns (above all abstract nouns), the distinction cannot be logically understood to non-native English speakers. I think we should take this kind of distinction as a matter belonging to the realm of linguistic habit particular to English rather than to the realm of universally available reasons. Countableness for some nouns is different even between similar European languages. For example, "information" is deemed as uncountable in English but it is countable in French and German. So I think we had better learn English's countableness of nouns without asking why it is so. (BBC grammar QA).

Nevertheless, I'd like to add about your question what I feel personally. I think English people someway has a tendency to take a thing as countable in the case they could feel there would be things similar to that thing. For example, let me take the case of "knowledge". When you say "knowledge" without adding the indefinite article "a", it means a general and indefinable amount/sort of "acquaintance with something through experience and intelligence". But when you say "He has a knowledge of biology", the noun phrase "a knowledge of biology" is interpreted to imply "a certain sort/amount of knowledge on biology such as that you can imagine other people also might have one similar to that. It is my humble opinion.

Anyway as I'm a beginner of English learning and don't know much about English, you'd better not believe me so much. Our teachers and other native speakers must give you much much better answers. Please wait until then.

paco