0
Hotmale Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

(a) sharp chest pain

Hello,

Do I need the article "a" in this sentence?

"He complaines of sharp chest pain."

I've looked "pain" up in a dictionary and read that it can be countable and uncoutable, therefore I have no idea whether to use the article, or not.

Thank you
  

Top answer

Me neither. This is one of those cases where the article works like no article. That he complains of a pain somewhere means that he complains of pain there.

— Enoon

  • Me neither.
  • This is one of those cases where the article works like no article.
  • That he complains of a pain somewhere means that he complains of pain there.
  • The article does not make the pain single, it serves to localize it, but the rest of the sentence does that, anyway.
  • If I said "I have pain", I could mean here and there and all over.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

3 Answers
0
Me neither. This is one of those cases where the article works like no article. That he complains of a pain somewhere means that he complains of pain there. The article does not make the pain single, it serves to localize it, but the rest of the sentence does that, anyway. If I said "I have pain", I could mean here and there and all over. If I say "I have a pain", you are being prompted to ask, "W
0
0
Thanks, Enoon. Sometimes I think I know enough about the articles, but some other time I feel I know next to nothing Emotion: smile
0
0
HotmaleDo I need the article "a" in this sentence?  "He complaines of sharp chest pain."
No, not idiomatically. Pain and ache are treated differently.You may say: I have a terrible headache / stomach ache.
But " a pain... " sounds foreign to my ear.
0

Related Questions