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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

the word "lack" countable or uncountable

0Hi there,02br
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00I am from an asian country (korea) and Korean doesn't distinguish countable or uncountable nouns so I have some problem with this concept even though I have been living in english speaking country for 10 years.02br
02br
00Now the word "lack" according to the online Longman dictionary is an uncountable noun, as well as a singular noun. 02br
02br
00But we usually say "a lack of quality" or "a lack of resources".02br
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00Now we know for sure we never put "a" in front of "water" because "water" is an uncountable noun, as in "furniture" or "stuff".02br
02br
00So how is it that word "lack" can have an indefinite article in front of it?02br
02br
00Does it mean that the English language lacks logic inherently?02br
02br
00Thanks.0-
  

Top answer

0Hi,02br 02br 00I don't see why you can't count lacks. 02br 02br 00He has a lack of maturity. He has a lack of money.

— Clive

  • 0Hi,02br 02br 00I don't see why you can't count lacks.
  • 02br 02br 00He has a lack of maturity.
  • He has a lack of money.
  • He has a lack of intelligence.
  • 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive0-
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15 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
00I don't see why you can't count lacks. 02br
02br
00He has a lack of maturity. He has a lack of money. He has a lack of intelligence. That's three lacks.02br
02br
00Best wishes, Clive0-
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0Hi Clive02br
02br
00I was taught that 'lack' is an uncountable noun. However, in my country, we learn BrE, so could it be a case of BrE vs AmE?02br
02br
00Best wishes02br
02br
00YL0-
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0 As I understand. it also can be uncontable: "We didn't implement all the features due to lack of time"02br
02br
00 And in most cases only one usage is possible — either coutable or not. 0-
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1blockquote
01cite10Ant_22212cite10As I understand. it also can be uncontable: "We didn't implement all the features due to lack of time"12br
12br
10And in most cases only one usage is possible — either coutable or not.12blockquote
10I would, without doubt, write that as "due to 01b00a02b00 lac
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0 GG: what about these:02br
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00 Death is lack of life02br
00 Vacuum is lack of air02br
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00 I'd certainly use them without an article... 0-
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0Death is the absense of life.02br
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00A vacuum is an abense of air.02br
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00I wouldn't say either of them the way you have it.0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Grammar Geek12cite10I would, without doubt, write that as "due to 11b10a12b10 lack of time."12blockquote
10 Maybe you would but either way is good.01blockquote
01cite10Anonymous12cite10we know for sure we never put "a" in front of "water"12b
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0 GG: 02br
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00 Wow, now I am at a loss...02br
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00 Zero article:02br
00 «Death is lack of life, illness lack of health, poverty lack of wealth, and ignorance lack of knowledge.» — Sanderson Beck, Middle East and Africa, 1875.02br
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00 With "a":02br
00 «Death is a lack of life.» — See Carl Schmitt,
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0I agree with GG that Death is 01b00absence (NADA)02b00 of life and so is vacuum of air.0-
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0 N2G: «I agree with GG that Death is absence (NADA) of life and so is vacuum of air.»02br
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00 You meant "_the_ absence" for death and "an absence" for vacuum?02br
00 What's NADA?02br
00 Is "lack" a 'partial absence'? If not, then what don't you like with this word? 0-
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