An overtime or a overtime?^_^

Question

an overtime or a overtime?^_^

Mike in Japan · Accepted Answer

Neither Soochu.
'Overtime' is an uncountable noun, so we would say some/a lot of/a little/etc. overtime.
P.S. If it WERE countable we would say 'an' because overtime begins with a vowel.
Cheers

Guest · Answer

How do I figure out whether a noun is countable or uncountable? I've come across some nouns which I found pretty confusing. for eg. Water- Is said to be uncountable. Why is it so? We can count water. ! ltr, 2 litres, 3 litres... I thought "overtime" was countable too... I worked 3 hours overtime. Isn't it countable? Help appreciated.

Thanks

Whl626 · Answer

I worked 3 hours overtime. ( The ' overtime ' here is ' adverb ' ) to mean how you work.

water is uncountable noun, that's why we say 2 litres of water not 2 litres waters

but waters with s means the ocean on the shore of a country.

eg. A pirate ship has encroached the waters of Thailand.

To know if a noun is countable or uncountable, you have no choice but to rely on Dictionary.

Mike in Japan · Answer

WHL, yes overtime is a noun AND an adverb, well spotted!!
I did three hours of overtime. or I did a lot of overtime. noun
I worked three hours overtime. or I worked overtime for three hours. adverb

Rommie · Answer

You're counting litres there, dude, not waters. All that that proves is that LITRE is countable.

Figuring out if something is countable or not is easy. Just fit the word into the blank spaces in the following. If what you end up with makes sense, the word is countable, otherwise it isn't:

One ___, two _____s, three _____s, four _____s, etc.

(That's a plural form after two, three and four).

BUT....

Contrary to what most people will tell you, *** noun can, in theory at least, be used either countably or continuously. Water may be officially uncountable, but I can still sit down at a restaurant and order "Two beers, three cokes and two waters". Humans may be countable, but I can still say There is some human in you after all". It's not that there's no clear division, it's that there's no division at all. There is a default for most things (fruit=continuous, veg=countable)*, but you can override the default by how you use the word in a sentence.

Rommie

* whoever thought that up should be shot.

Mike in Japan · Answer

Yes, we can use units or measures when we need to quantify uncountables.
Three LITRES of water.
Two LOAVES of bread.
Six HOURS of overtime.
In these cases we are, as Rommie said, counting the units used to quantify the uncountable.

Believer · Answer

Hi,

THANK YOU.

Can you expand, if possible, on your explanation that there is a defualt for most things but you can override the default by how you use the word in a sentence.

RedPenCJ · Answer

For example:

"The baseball game went into overtime because the score was tied at the end of nine innings." It is a sports reference

Equally correct, in a different context, is,

"I have been working overtime this week."

And...

"Today was an overtime day for me."

(You use an not a because overtime begins with a vowel).

An overtime or a overtime?^_^

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