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Karel Urbanek Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
a part vs. part
I've been puzzled about the usage of "part" as an uncountable noun. It often seems to me that there is no difference in meaning between its countable and uncountable form. Is there any difference in the following statement pairs?
You've become a part of our team. You've become part of our team. (You're a member of our team now.)
A part of the building collapsed. Part of the building collapsed. (A certain section (e.g. left wing) does not exist anymore.)
Can anybody explain please? You can use the sentences above to explain the difference.
You've become a part of our team. You've become part of our team. (You're a member of our team now.)
A part of the building collapsed. Part of the building collapsed. (A certain section (e.g. left wing) does not exist anymore.)
Can anybody explain please? You can use the sentences above to explain the difference.
Top answer
There's not much to explain. It rarely matters if you add "a" or not. I tend to leave off "a" in situations like your first sentence — anything with 'be part of' or 'become part of' where the idea is that one person (or thing) is incorporated in some way into a bigger group.
- There's not much to explain.
- It rarely matters if you add "a" or not.
- I tend to leave off "a" in situations like your first sentence — anything with 'be part of' or 'become part of' where the idea is that one person (or thing) is incorporated in some way into a bigger group.
- I tend to include "a" in situation like your second sentence — where something is truly and literally 'a part' of something else and might, for example, be broken off from the whole.
- ) CJ
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1 Answers
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There's not much to explain. It rarely matters if you add "a" or not.
I tend to leave off "a" in situations like your first sentence — anything with 'be part of' or 'become part of' where the idea is that one person (or thing) is incorporated in some way into a bigger group.
I tend to include "a" in situation like your second sentence — where something is truly and literally 'a
I tend to leave off "a" in situations like your first sentence — anything with 'be part of' or 'become part of' where the idea is that one person (or thing) is incorporated in some way into a bigger group.
I tend to include "a" in situation like your second sentence — where something is truly and literally 'a
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