Collins Cobuild English Grammar (30 page)

I got
a postcard
from Susan.
The FBI is conducting
an investigation
.

But if you want to add extra information, you can add an adjective, or a following clause or phrase.

I met
a Swedish girl
on the train from Copenhagen.
I’ve been reading
an interesting article
in The Economist.
We had to write
a story about our parents’ childhood
.
I chose
a picture that reminded me of my own country
.

a
or
an
after linking verbs

1.232
  You can also use
a
or
an
after a
linking verb
.

She is
a model
and
an artist
.
His father was
an alcoholic
.
Noise was considered
a nuisance
.
His brother was
a sensitive child
.

For more information about linking verbs, see
Chapter 3
.

a
and
an
with uncountable nouns

1.233
  Sometimes,
a
or
an
are used with an uncountable noun, especially one that relates to human emotions or mental activity. This only happens when the uncountable noun is limited by an adjective, or a phrase or clause giving more information.

A general education
is perhaps more important than
an exact knowledge of some particular theory
.
She had
an eagerness for life
.

using individuals to generalize

1.234
  You can use
a
or
an
with a noun when you are using one individual person or thing to make a general statement about all people or things of that type. For example, if you say
A gun must be kept in a safe place
, you are talking about an individual gun in order to make a general statement about all guns.

A computer
can only do what you program it to do.
A dog
likes to eat far more meat than
a human being
.
An unmarried mother
was looked down on.

This is not the usual way of referring to groups. Normally, if you want to make a statement about all the people or things of a particular kind, you use the plural form of a noun without a determiner. See paragraph
1.227
for more information about this.

nouns referring to one thing only

1.235
  
A
and
an
are sometimes used with
singular nouns
such as
sun
,
moon
, and
sky
that refer to just one thing. You normally use
the
with these nouns, but you use
a
or
an
when you are drawing attention to some special feature by adding a modifier or a following phrase or clause to the noun. This use is particularly common in literature.

We drove under
a gloomy sky
.
A weak sun
shines on the promenade.

For more information on singular nouns, see paragraphs
1.34
to
1.40
.

Other indefinite determiners

some

1.236
  
Some
is usually used to show that there is a quantity of something or a number of things or people, without being precise. It is used with uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns.

Some
is usually used in affirmative statements.

There is
some
evidence that the system works.
There’s
some
chocolate cake over there.
I had
some
good ideas.

Some
can be used in questions, when you expect the answer to be
yes
.

Could you give me
some
examples?
Would you like
some
coffee?

Some
is also used to mean quite a large amount or number. For example, in
I did not meet her again for some years
,
some
means almost the same as
several
or
many
.

You will be unable to restart the car for
some
time.
It took
some
years for Dan to realize the truth.

1.237
  You can also use
some
in front of numbers, in slightly more literary English, to show that you are not being totally accurate.

I was
some
fifteen miles by sea from the nearest village.
…an animal weighing
some
five tons.

1.238
  When you want to emphasize that you do not know the identity of a person or thing, or you think their identity is not important, you can use
some
with a singular countable noun, instead of
a
or
an
.

Most staff members will spend a few weeks in
some
developing country.
Supposing you had
some
eccentric who came and offered you a thousand pounds.

any

1.239
  
Any
is used before plural nouns and uncountable nouns when you are referring to a quantity of something that may or may not exist.

The patients know their rights like
any
other consumers.
Check online if you’re in
any
doubt.
You can stop at
any
time you like.

Any
is also used in questions asking whether something exists or not. It is also used in negative statements to say that something does not exist.

Do you have
any
advice on that?
Do you have
any vacancies
for bar staff?
It hasn’t made
any
difference.
Nobody in her house knows
any
English.
I rang up to see if there were
any
tickets left.

Questions and negative statements are explained further in
Chapter 5
.

Note that you can use
any
with singular countable nouns to talk about someone or something of a particular type, when you do not want to mention a specific person or thing.

Any
big tin container will do.
Cars can be rented at almost
any
US airport.

Any
can also be used as a
pronoun
. See paragraphs
1.93
to
1.161
for more information about pronouns. It is also used in
if
-clauses
. For more information about these, see
Chapter 8
.

another
and
other

1.240
  
Another
is used with singular countable nouns to talk about an additional person or thing of the same type as you have already mentioned.

Could I have
another
cup of coffee?
He opened
another
shop last month.

It can also be used before numbers to talk about more than one additional thing.

Margaret staying with us for
another
ten days.
Five officials were sacked and
another
four arrested.

Other
is used with plural nouns, or occasionally with uncountable nouns.

Other
people must have thought like this.
They are either asleep or entirely absorbed in play or
other
activity.

selecting from a group

1.241
  
Enough
is used to say that there is as much of something as is needed, or as many things as are needed. You can therefore use
enough
in front of uncountable nouns or plural nouns.

There’s
enough
space for the children to run around.
They weren’t getting
enough
customers.

Many
indicates that there is a large number of things, without being very precise. You use
many
with a plural countable noun.

He spoke
many
different languages.

When you want to emphasize that there is only a small number of things of a particular kind, you use
few
with a plural countable noun.

There are
few
drugs that act quickly enough to be effective.
There were
few
doctors available.

Few
is quite formal. In less formal English, you can use
not many
with the same meaning.

There are
n’st many
gardeners like him.

Most
indicates nearly all of a group or amount. You use
most
with an uncountable noun or a plural countable noun.

Most
people recover but the disease can be fatal.
Most
farmers are still using the old methods.

Several
usually indicates an imprecise number that is not very large, but is more than two. You use
several
with a plural countable noun.

Several
projects had to be postponed.
I had seen her
several
times before.
There were
several
reasons for this.

all
,
both
, and
either

1.242
  
All
includes every person or thing of a particular kind. You use
all
with an uncountable noun or a plural countable noun.

They believe that
all
prisoners should be treated the same.

Both
is used to say something about two people or things of the same kind. You use
both
with a plural countable noun. The two people or things have usually been mentioned or are obvious from the context.
Both
is sometimes used to emphasize that two people or things are involved, rather than just one.

There were excellent performances from
both
actresses.
Denis held his cocoa in
both
hands.

Either
is also used to talk about two things, but usually indicates that only one of the two is involved. You use
either
with a singular countable noun. When it is part of the subject of a clause, the verb is in the singular.

No argument could move
either
old gentleman from this decision.
If
either
parent has the disease, there is a much higher chance that the child will develop it.