Question

So, I know that English nouns are described as countable and uncountable. In front of an uncountable noun you cannot put the indefinite article A. For example, it would be incorrect to say:¨a water, a milk, a sugar..¨etc.  But yesterday, while I was watching ¨A Game of Thrones¨, I heard the following sentence: ¨ Jeoffrey  will be king.¨ Given that ¨king¨is a countable noun, why isn´t there an A in front of it? I also recall that in my sister´s English book there was a sentence saying:¨Would you like a coffee?¨  Wouldn't it be correct to say :¨Would you like some coffee?¨or ¨Would you like a cup of coffee?¨

Vorpar · Accepted Answer

Jeoffrey will be king.

For a specific noun, "the" is used. I believe the above is an elision of: Jeoffrey will be the king.

¨Would you like a coffee?¨ Wouldn't it be correct to say :¨Would you like some coffee?¨or ¨Would you like a cup of coffee?¨

You're correct, "would you like a coffee?" is an elision of "would you like a cup of coffee?"

LouiST · Answer

Hi,

I am king.
I am the king of something.

It's just that way.

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Woud you like a coffee? -> It actually means 'Would you like a cup of coffee?'. Here it's countable: one coffee, two coffees, three coffees, .... But you can't count milk: one milk, two milk -> doesn't work.

Anyway, 'Would you like some coffee?' is also OK.

(It's more like: Should I give you some coffee in your cup? -> not countable. But 'a coffee' more means 'a cup of coffee')

LS

AlpheccaStars · Answer

The rules for using articles can be very confusing! It takes a lot of practice and experience for some situations.

For example, we can say:
What do you want to drink? Do you want coffee, tea,or Coke?

The answer can be:
I'll have coffee.
I'll have a cup of coffee.
I'll have a coffee. (The "cup of" has been omitted, but it is understood.)
I'll have two sugars in my coffee, please. (Two little packets of sugar.)
I'll have a Coke. ( A glass of Coke or a can of Coke).

The same is true of questions. The container is assumed:
This is quite typical in British English, but it happens also in American English.
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Now, about your second sentence.
Jeoffrey will be king. - This treats the word King as general concept of power and leadership, or political office. That is true of titles:
Henry II, King of England.
You could also say:
Jeoffrey will be (the) king when his father dies. (the is optional)
Jeoffrey will be ( a) king. ( a is optional)

The Queen of England is Elizabeth. (the is required here, because we refer to a definite person.)

The same is true for other offices:
Did Obama know that he would be president?
Obama is the current president of the United States. (the is required when there is another adjective)
Obama is (the) president of the United States. (the is optional)

CalifJim · Answer

AgaristaJeoffrey will be king.

'king' is considered a role. When you speak of playing a role, you drop the.

Ken will be catcher.
We hired Jane as secretary.
Laura always plays second fiddle to her brother Mark.
Mark thinks he's master of the universe.

CJ

Agarista · Answer

Thank you all so much for your answers! I think I got it, at  least in theory :-) Let´s hope I manage to combine theory with practice :-)

Agarista · Answer

You are right, the rules for using articles can be very confusing, especially since  there are many nouns that can be both countable and uncountable, depending on the context.

Agarista · Answer

So, would it be incorrect to say :¨We hired Jane as a secretary.¨ ?

CalifJim · Answer

Agaristawould it be incorrect to say :¨We hired Jane as a secretary.¨ ?

No. That one is quite variable.

as secretary (She will fill the role of secretary in our organization.)
as a secretary (She may not really be a secretary, but we will treat her as if she were a secretary.)
as the secretary (We need to fill several positions, and the position we are hiring Jane for is the secretarial position - as opposed to any of the other positions.)

CJ

Cool Breeze · Answer

The article is not used with a title that can belong to just one person at a time in contexts that involve the verbs be, become, remain or a passive form of appoint, choose, elect and make.

He was elected king/president. (There is only one king or president at a time.)
But: He was elected an MP. (There are about 640 MPs in Britain, more than one.)

Mr Bell was chairman for two years. (Only one chairman at a time. Some might use the article, though.)

Who was appointed prime minister?

When king, chairman, prime minister etc is the subject, the article is always used:

The chairman opened the meeting.
The king was present at the ceremony.
The president said nothing.

When the person's name follows the title, no article is used:

Queen Elizabeth was present.

If the title is not commonly associated with the Anglo-Saxon world, an article is used even when the person's name follows:

The Emperor Frederik looked very solemn.

CB

Anonymous · Answer

CalifJimLaura always plays second fiddle to her brother Mark.

Can you explain to me what does this sentence mean?
Thank you

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