I was walking down the street when the above poster caught my eye. It should read ‘Learn the violin‘, not ‘Learn violin‘. The definite article should not be dropped when referring to the music that an instrument produces. (Rule 6.2 Extra!)
Indefinite Article Days of the Week
Days of the week can be either uncountable or countable depending on how they are used. When a day of the week is being referred to generally, it is used as an uncountable noun, i.e. no indefinite article is used with them. General/Uncountable: Ø Sunday comes before Monday. Sunday is a day of rest. Monday is the most unpopular day …
Adjectives of size with uncountable nouns
The above sign ‘Big Sushi’ is grammatically incorrect. Many adjectives of size; such as the words ‘big’ and ‘small’, cannot be used with uncountable nouns. This is the case as many uncountable nouns are considered to be formless, thereby making them difficult to assign a size to. For the same reason, it would also be incorrect to say that one: …
Spaghetti or a spaghetti?
The above should read: I ate spaghetti. The indefinite should not be used with uncountable nouns. (rule 3.1). Spaghetti is an uncountable noun because it is made up of small pieces (uncountable noun classification).
Breakfast or a breakfast?
The indefinite article is almost never used when the words breakfast, lunch, or dinner are written without an adjective. The above should read ‘I ate breakfast’, not ‘I ate a breakfast’. (rule 3.1)The indefinite article can be used with the words breakfast, lunch, or dinner when an adjective is used as a description. Jim ate a big breakfast yesterday. Sally …