a + adjective + number + noun

Question

Hello,

I've been puzzled by the following sentence and similar ones.
" A further 30 questions will not be answered today"
Why do we need "a" ? What does it refer to? I've posted similar question on another forum and got the response:

Just "further" does not work in either of these sentences.
In "a further", further is being used as an adjective, and when we use any adjective with a number we need to use "a".
A further 14 examples
An extra 14 examples
A surprising 14 examples
A fabulous 14 examples.

Is that true? Can somebody give a more elaborate description of this grammatical area?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

AnonymousWhy do we need "a" ?

It is a single set (or subset) of questions/examples/etc.

Anonymouswhen we use any adjective with a number we need to use "a".

Yes, we do, because we are breaking the total number of examples, etc., into groups, for instance the surprising group of examples (vs the unsurprising ones).

It works for non-count nouns, to—a terrible beauty, a profound silence—and vice versa—we carry 47 ice creams; I'd like two coffees, please.

The grammar term is 'reclassification'.

WeaselADAPT · Answer

My guess: The questions are taken in sets of 30, so it's like saying, "we're not taking a further set (another set); we're done for the day."

It is true that the indefinite article "a" would be a determiner for the noun phrase, "further 30 questions," but I believe that "further" modifies "30," which is itself the adjective of "questions," and since an adjective's modifier is always an adverb, "further" is an adverb in this case.

I believe this holds true for "extra" as well, though "surprising" and "fabulous" would be adjectives that describe "questions," not adverbs of "14."

More to the point of your question, why is any determiner needed at all...

You could say, "Questions will not be taken;" and you could say "Further questions will not be taken." Those work because the noun phrase is plural, but if you include the "30," it just doesn't work: "Class, further 30 questions will not be taken," and I believe that is because the noun phrase has now been made into a singular unit (of 30), even though the noun itself has an "s" on it. A singular expression requires some determiner or pronoun to distinguish it. You can say "boys will be boys," but you cannot say, "boy will be boy." You have to say, "a boy," or "this boy," or "that boy.

Again, we're back to calling IT "a" set (of questions).

I hope this helps. It actually helped me.

a + adjective + number + noun

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