"Without a trace" vs "without trace"
Hi
I suppose both of these are equally natural?
He disappeared without a trace.
He disappeared without trace.
Thanks,
Tom
Top answer
Mr. Tom I suppose both of these are equally natural? It's hard to say without analyzing the statistics, but there is no way to weed out the mistaken uses when you do that.
- Mr.
- Tom I suppose both of these are equally natural?
- It's hard to say without analyzing the statistics, but there is no way to weed out the mistaken uses when you do that.
- For me, it has to be "a trace".
- Plain "trace" sounds like something people probably say somewhere I don't know about, and it calls attention to itself.
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Mr. TomI suppose both of these are equally natural?
It's hard to say without analyzing the statistics, but there is no way to weed out the mistaken uses when you do that. For me, it has to be "a trace". Plain "trace" sounds like something people probably say somewhere I don't know about, and it calls attention to itself.
0Yes.
The Ngrams graph is interesting. The two were about equal until the 1980s, then the version with "a" began to prevail, with a massive surge in very recent years. I don't perceive either form of this phrase becoming so much more popular just recently. It almost looks like some kind of artefact.
0
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