A canadian dollar

[Humble]

Hi, musicgold,
Some nouns can be either countable or uncountable in different contexts. I think a divorce is not abstract here - it can have the plural: Barnaby has had three divorces. I am not quite sure it can be said, though.
Cheers

[JCrawf]

Originally Posted by Humble

Hi,
Sorry, I disagree. Courage is uncountable, indeed, but abstract nouns can be used with the indefinite article when they denote a certain kind of a quality, feeling, state etc. The noun nearly always has a descriptive attribute:
Mary showed a patience that I had never expected of her.
It’s just the same with courage here.
Cheers

Hello, Humble,
Please comment on my reasoning.
Both mg's sentence and yours suggest that "patience" and "courage" can be quantified (i.e., some people have more of these qualities than others). That being the case, I submit that THE COURAGE OF AN OLDER MAN indicates a definite quantity of courage, while A PATIENCE I HAD NEVER EXPECTED OF HER indicates an indefinite quantity of patience. THE WISDOM OF A JUDGE, definite; A WISDOM BEYOND HER YEARS, indefinite;
THE HONESTY OF A SAINT, definite; AN HONESTY RARE IN A YOUNG GIRL, indefinite.
If you agree so far, could we say that "the" is used for a definite quantity and "a" for an indefinite quantity, provided that certain words in the sentence are understood:
Mary showed a [level of, degree of...] patience that I had never expected of her.
If that's true, then the rule I gave mg holds, since level and degree are countable nouns.
Great fun, what?

[Humble]

Hi, JCrawf,
It does seem to work with these words, but more stuff needs to be seen to make sure the formula is valid. I can suggest one more: adding a kind of .
Mary showed a (kind of) patience...
Cheers