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Bmojtaba Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Article

'There was an inordinate number of whales off the coast'
'There was an inordinate lack of rain last fall '

Is the article 'an' referring to the word 'number ' in the first sentence and the word ' rain' in the later one?
  

Top answer

bmojtaba Is the article 'an' referring to the word 'number ' Yes, though 'refer' is the wrong verb. 'an' provides a determiner for 'number'. bmojtaba and the word ' rain' in the la tt er ?

— CalifJim

  • bmojtaba Is the article 'an' referring to the word 'number ' Yes, though 'refer' is the wrong verb.
  • 'an' provides a determiner for 'number'.
  • bmojtaba and the word ' rain' in the la tt er ?
  • No.
  • The determiner 'an' goes with the noun 'lack'.
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5 Answers
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bmojtabaIs the article 'an' referring to the word 'number '
Yes, though 'refer' is the wrong verb. 'an' provides a determiner for 'number'.
bmojtabaand the word ' rain' in the latter ?
No. The determiner 'an' goes with the noun 'lack'.

CJ
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CalifJimNo. The determiner 'an' goes with the noun 'lack'.
Thanks for the correction, so an uncountable noun takes an indefinite article if it has an adjective before it,right? but when there's not an adjective modifying an uncountable noun it doesn't take indefinite article at all.
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bmojtabaan uncountable noun takes an indefinite article if it has an adjective before it,right? but when there's not an adjective modifying an uncountable noun it doesn't take indefinite article at all.
That is a good general rule. Yes. Even so, you may find exceptions to this rule.

CJ
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CalifJimEven so, you may find exceptions to this rule.
For instance : ' The country's prospects for rapid development depend on the agreement '

In the above example an indefinite article[ a ] can't be used despite the fact that for most common uncountable nouns if there is an adjective before them it can be used ,is there any specific rule to know whe
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bmojtabais there any specific rule to know where to put 'a' or ' an' before uncountable nouns?
No. I'm afraid not.
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