John’s English Blog

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts about articles.

In this blog post we’ll look into using “a”, the indefinite article, in more detail.

Before we can use a correctly we need look at countable and uncountable nouns. A countable noun is a thing you can count and an uncountable noun is a thing you can’t count.

countable nouns

• I visited Le Louvre, in Paris, in just one day, but I think you need two or three days to see everything.
• “One sheep, two sheep, three sheep”, I thought to myself, but I couldn’t fall asleep.
• As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives, …
• Two heads are better than one.
• One huge delicious creamy chocolate cake, two huge delicious creamy chocolate cakes.

We use a and an with singular countable nouns.

• I saw a black cat.
• The lesson lasts about an hour.
• “A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!” William Shakespeare.
• Excuse me, do you have a pen?
• There’s a time and a place for everything.

We don’t use a or an with plural nouns.

• I saw two black cats.
• The lesson lasts about 60 minutes.
• “Better than the strength of men and horses is our wisdom.” Xenophanes.
• “Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery.” Jane Austen
• There are times and places I’ll never forget.

uncountable nouns

We don’t use a or an with uncountable nouns.

• Why do Britons put milk in their tea?
• Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
• The love of money is the root of all evil.
• “Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.” Anton Chekhov
• I bake a delicious chocolate cake. It’s made from eggs, cocoa, sugar, prunes, crême fraîche, dark chocolate and brandy.

With uncountable nouns we use some, any and a quantity of.

Some means an unspecified quantity of something. We generally use it in positive sentences.

• I’ve got some free time this afternoon.
• There was some trouble at work.
• Do you want some coffee?
• There’s some water in the jug.
• The teacher gave the student some advice.

Any means an unspecified quantity of something. We generally use in negative sentences.

• I haven’t got any free time this afternoon.
• There wasn’t any trouble at work.
• I don’t want any coffee.
• There isn’t any water in the jug.
• The teacher didn’t give the student any advice.

A quantity of is used for a specific amount of something.

• I can spare you a little bit of time this afternoon.
• There was a spot of trouble at work.
• Do you want a cup of coffee?
• There’s a drop of water in the jug.
• The teacher gave the student a piece of advice.

quiz

Back to the article

1. Every morning I have a shower.
2. A sofa is a piece of furniture.
3. There is safety in numbers.
4. She didn’t want any sugar in her tea.
5. Once upon a time there was a cat who wore boots.
6. There’s still some tea left in the pot.
7. ‘It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like, “What about lunch?”’ A. A. Milne
8. Would you like a scone?
9. There isn’t any tea left in the pot.
10. Do you have an answer for me?
11. He hadn’t given up, because there was still some hope.
12. My physics teacher gave me a piece of advice that changed my future.

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