Tell me you've not turned traitor
I know that indefinite article can be omitted in a headline/title like,
"Cops arrested thief"
But in the following one, I have no idea why the "a" is not included before the noun in the first one when it does in the second one.
1. "Tell me you've not turned traitor".
2. "I'm a member of the CIA"
Thanks.
Top answer
The unexpected absence of the article is a feature of this use of "turn" in set phrases such as "turn traitor", "turn informer" and probably some others that I can't immediately bring to mind. This usage is not fully predictable from standard grammatical rules. g.
- The unexpected absence of the article is a feature of this use of "turn" in set phrases such as "turn traitor", "turn informer" and probably some others that I can't immediately bring to mind.
- This usage is not fully predictable from standard grammatical rules.
- g.
- "teacher-turned-author".
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The unexpected absence of the article is a feature of this use of "turn" in set phrases such as "turn traitor", "turn informer" and probably some others that I can't immediately bring to mind. This usage is not fully predictable from standard grammatical rules. There is also the pattern "X turned Y" (or "X-turned-Y"), which means X that has become Y, e.g. "teacher-turned-author".
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