Give (A) Thought

Question

"He gave thought to this matter.""He gave a thought to this matter."Could both be correct?

Khoff · Accepted Answer

Neither is very natural.

"He gave the matter some thought" or "He gave some thought to the matter" would be better.

SheltieBites · Answer

Could:

"He gave the matter a thought."

be somehow grammatical, or/and have a different meaning than:

"He gave the matter some thought."

?

CalifJim · Answer

SheltieBitesCould:"He gave the matter a thought."be somehow grammatical, or/and have a different meaning than: "He gave the matter some thought."?

No. Not that I can see. They're both grammatical, but the first just seems strange. Where did you find that wording?

CJ

SheltieBites · Answer

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/08/us/beige-cosmos-produces-red-faces.html

"Few gave a thought to the color of the universe until two months ago, when astronomers at Johns Hopkins University ran calculations through a spectrum of color schemes and concluded that on average the universe is pale turquoise, or just a shade greener."

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/22/nyregion/the-fate-of-flight-800-the-families-angry-relatives-yearn-for-strengths-of-home.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

" It is a place they barely gave a thought to when they arrived, numb from the news, expecting to be in and out in one day, maybe two. "

http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jun/13/local/me-40530

"Garland credits Crank with being the business brains behind the hotel, saying she never gave a thought to being a businesswoman, but became a hotel owner through a combination of happenstance and her husband's business acumen."

The "give thought to" (no article) is likely correct, because it is in the dictionaries. It is "give A thought to" that I find puzzling. Could "give a thought to" (if considered standard English) have a different meaning than "give thought to"?

Khoff · Answer

Before I got the post with the examples you quote, I was going to say that although "gave a thought to " is not at all natural sounding, "didn't give a thought to " is fine. If you look back at the examples you provide, you will see that all of them have a negative component.

she never gave a thought to being a businesswoman,

emphasizes that she never gave it any thought -- not only not very much thought, but not even one single tiny little thought.

I would say that "He didn't give it a thought" is a more emphatic version of "he didn't give it any thought," which is the negative version of "he gave it some thought.

As for "give thought to" without "a" -- I hesitate to say I would "never" use an expression, but I can't think of an example where I would say "he gave it thought" without an intervening qualifier -- he gave it some thought, careful thought, etc.

CalifJim · Answer

I agree with khoff that it takes an element with negative polarity (few, barely, never) to make 'give a thought' seem correct.

You would virtually never hear the affirmative versions:

?Many people gave a thought to the color of the universe.
?It's a place they gave a thought to.
?She always gave a thought to being a businesswoman.

They all sound wrong.

CJ

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