Noun + of

Question

Hello,Could you please help me?I know we have such expressions as :a man of value = valuable mana man of ability = talented person If I understand well, we don't put an article here...is it a general rule for this expression?For example :She was a singer of (an) incredible voice.I think 'voice' is countable in this context...should we therefore use an article here?Thank you!Kind regards.

Silak12 · Accepted Answer

Hi! Coincidence This would sound better-She was a singer with an incredible voice.

CalifJim · Answer

CoincidenceShe was a singer of (an) incredible voice.I think 'voice' is countable in this context...should we therefore use an article here?

No. No article. It seems to me that the "of" in this construction forces an uncountable reading on the following noun.
(of incredible voice is a bit anomalous with or without the article, by the way. The word after "of" is normally more abstract.)

Maybe you can find some more examples and we can try to figure out if there are cases where the article is used, and if so, why. I don't think you'll find many instances of this construction with an article, though.

a man of honor
a man of means
a woman of substance

CJ

Regards · Answer

Hi,

Further examples
A person of great wisdom
A man of noble birth
A woman of wealth
A matter of little importance

As you can see, no article is used. This construction often denotes a typical feature that someone or something has.

Regards

Coincidence · Answer

Thank you very much for both answers.
That was very helpful.

Kind regards.

Noun + of

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