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a. It moved at a great pace.b. It moved at great pace.c. It moved at paced. It moved at a pace.What is the difference in meaning between each?And why do we leave out the article in b and c?Thanks

Ivanhr · Accepted Answer

a and c are unquestionably correct. There's some room for debate regarding b while d seems incorrect.
The noun pace is normally uncountable thus requiring no article (as in #c). However, when modified by an adjective, "pace" will usually take an a (as in #a).

It could be argued that b is not ungrammatical but much less idiomatic than a.

For d to make sense you will need some kind of a classifying expression to follow "pace". For instance, you might say

It moved at a pace that was too fast for me.

Make sure you hear a second opinion as well.

English 1b3 · Answer

IvanhrHowever, when modified by an adjective, "pace" will usually take an a (as in #a).

Is this the case with most nouns? Any reason?

And re your last point (about a classifying expression), why does an expression of this sort warrant an indefinite article? It doesn't make the noun countable...

Thank you very much for your help.

Ivanhr · Answer

English 1b3Is this the case with most nouns? Any reason?And re your last point (about a classifying expression), why does an expression of this sort warrant an indefinite article? It doesn't make the noun countable...

1. Yes. The reason is probably that "a great pace" can be intrepreted as " a kind of pace that is great". This logic can be applied to most uncountable nouns. There are , however, exceptions; one of them being "we've made great progress".

2. No, it doesn't but it can also be interpreted in much the same way as #1 above. For instance,
It's a silence that speaks volumes. (...a kind of silence that speaks volumes)

In my opinion, the noun still remains uncountable because you still can't say "2 great paces" or "2 silences that speak volumes" etc.

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