Dear Someone,
As far as I know, "too high a concentration" is correct English, but "too high concentration" does not seem to be correct - well at least it gives below 1000 hits on Google, in comparison to 22 000 for the first alternative.
But, "too high viscosity" gives 242 Google hits, whereas "Too high a viscosity" yields 384 Google hits. This makes me think both are acceptable.
Is "too high viscosity" correct, but "too high concentration" incorrect / sounds bad? Why?
( If both are correct, I'm very surprised by [the vast drop in the number of hits when "a" is dropped from "too high a concentration"], which is not present when "a" is dropped from "too high a viscosity" )
Kind regards, Magnus
As far as I know, "too high a concentration" is correct English, but "too high concentration" does not seem to be correct - well at least it gives below 1000 hits on Google, in comparison to 22 000 for the first alternative.
But, "too high viscosity" gives 242 Google hits, whereas "Too high a viscosity" yields 384 Google hits. This makes me think both are acceptable.
Is "too high viscosity" correct, but "too high concentration" incorrect / sounds bad? Why?
( If both are correct, I'm very surprised by [the vast drop in the number of hits when "a" is dropped from "too high a concentration"], which is not present when "a" is dropped from "too high a viscosity" )
Kind regards, Magnus
Hi,
Welcome to the Forum.
'too high a . . . . ' is the correct form in both of your examples.
If I were you, I wouldn't be surprised at anything you find via Google. The internet is like the Wild West.
Another common error is, eg, 'too high of a concentration'.
Best wishes, Clive
Welcome to the Forum.
'too high a . . . . ' is the correct form in both of your examples.
If I were you, I wouldn't be surprised at anything you find via Google. The internet is like the Wild West.
Another common error is, eg, 'too high of a concentration'.
Best wishes, Clive
CliveAmen! Google is a source for a good feel of what is being written, but not necessarily how it should be written.
If I were you, I wouldn't be surprised at anything you find via Google. The internet is like the Wild West.
Site Hint: Check out our list of pronunciation videos.
Comments
By the way, perhaps Google in a way can be thought of as reflecting ((oops Google just told me to insert an "as" before "reflecting", with a factor of 100 :-) I hope that was correct)) the language of tomorrow :-) since the language is steadily changing (well, if you neglect hordes of utterly crazy errors...).
Thanks for your help; this forum seems really lovely to me :-) (I'm somewhat surprised it's free and open to anyone.)
"Concentration" is a countable noun, whereas "viscosity" is uncountable. You can have a concentration, but you cannot have a viscosity. Hence, we usually say "too high a concentration", but it´s less common to say "too high a viscosity".