A canadian dollar

[musicgold]

Hi All,

I am not sure about the use of article 'a' before the word 'stronger' in the following sentence. Can anybody please help? What is the rule for this kind of construction?

The poor performance is attributed to lower coal revenue, higher unit cost of product sold and a stronger Canadian dollar.

Thanks,

MG.

[hector51]

maybe the author was talking about the Canadian dollar in general,not a specific amount,so I think it's incorrect to place an article here.

my 2 cents!

[JCrawf]

Originally Posted by musicgold

Hi All,

I am not sure about the use of article 'a' before the word 'stronger' in the following sentence. Can anybody please help? What is the rule for this kind of construction?

The poor performance is attributed to lower coal revenue, higher unit cost of product sold and a stronger Canadian dollar.

Thanks,

MG.

We usually use the indefinite article the first time we refer to a singular countable noun: a stronger Canadian dollar; an unusually strong Canadian dollar. We would use the definite article in subsequent references to the same noun. Thus:
The poor performance is attributed to lower coal revenue, higher unit cost of product sold and a stronger Canadian dollar. [Of these three factors, the stronger Canadian dollar has the greatest influence.]

[musicgold]

JCrawf,

What rule would you apply for the use of 'a' in the following sentence?

He showed a courage worthy of an older man.

My understanding is that 'courage' is a non countable noun, and since it is definite in this context, therefore should be preceded by 'the' and not 'a'.

Thanks,

MG

[JCrawf]

Originally Posted by musicgold

JCrawf,

What rule would you apply for the use of 'a' in the following sentence?

He showed a courage worthy of an older man.

My understanding is that 'courage' is a non countable noun, and since it is definite in this context, therefore should be preceded by 'the' and not 'a'.

Thanks,

MG

MG,
You're right. The sentence should read "...the courage worthy...".

[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

[Tdol]

I agree with Humble here- it's a specialised courage and often shown, at least in BrE, with an indefinite article. You could say 'the courage of an older man', but there's nothing wrong to my ear about the indefinite article.

[musicgold]

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

Can anybody please quote the rule that cover this kind of situation?

[Humble]

Hi,
In fact it's been quoted by me - starting from Abstract nouns...
Cheers

[musicgold]

Originally Posted by Humble

Hi,
In fact it's been quoted by me - starting from Abstract nouns...
Cheers

I read the following sentence today on a website.

Stephen Hawking is getting a divorce.

I think 'divorce' is an abstract noun. And it is definite in this case. Is the 'a' appropriate before 'divorce'?

Thanks,

MG.