Is it compulsory to use articles, ''a'', an, and the, with only countable nouns? If what I'm saying is true then what is the reason for such a compulsion? And does it also mean no matter wherever a countable noun comes in a sentence you have to use a article with it?
1 2
Comments (Page 2)
A is a type/sort of B — here A is not as real as B,
A is an instance of B — A is not less real (material) than B At last, you have asked a specific question. By "detergent" the speaker didnt' mean the "matter" or "substance" itself, but, rather, a type or sort (or brand) of it. "Tide" is one detergent, and "Surf" is another. In this sense, they are countable. Countable: http://www.EnglishForward.com/English/WhyNoArticleHere/ggjmr/post.htm
As for uncountable, you have already seen them: "Water boils at 100 centigrades (at the "standard" atmospheric pressure)" — here "water" refers to the verty substance, and the sentence is true for all water in the world.