a drink, a brandy but tea

[PINKGREAT]

Why the article with tea is absent?

[BobK]

Both a and no article are acceptable with either 'tea' or coffee', because both those words are either U or C. The noun 'drink' is countable in this context - you can't say *Would you like drink , except in very rare contexts.

b

[PINKGREAT]

Thank you very very much

[PINKGREAT]

And what about a remark by Somerset Maugham "the man with the scar"?

-What will you have, general?
- A brandy.

Would he just use 'brandy' without the article or can I still reffer to it as to an uncountable noun? So, can it be like that with 'tea'?

[MikeNewYork]

And what about a remark by Somerset Maugham "the man with the scar"?

-What will you have, general?
- A brandy.

Would he just use 'brandy' without the article or can I still reffer to it as to an uncountable noun? So, can it be like that with 'tea'?

With or without the article will work. A brandy = a serving, glass of brandy.
For may people, a tea or a coffee = a serving or a cup.

[BobK]

And what about a remark by Somerset Maugham "the man with the scar"?
-What will you have, general?
- A brandy.
Would he just use 'brandy' without the article or can I still reffer to it as to an uncountable noun? So, can it be like that with 'tea'?

With apologies to Somerset Maugham, I'll adjust the example a bit:

(The cocktail cabinet is shut:)

What will you have, general?
A brandy.

But consider this context:

(It has already been established that the general will have a drink of some kind. The host has a bottle of whisky in one hand and brandy in the other)

What will you have, general?
Brandy.

b

[PINKGREAT]

So, do you mean by that that we are talking about a concrete brandy, bottle of...? But the 'the man with the scar' hero is at the bar at the moment of speaking. Please, excuse me for my misunderstooding.

[BobK]

So, do you mean by that that we are talking about a concrete brandy, bottle of...? But the 'the man with the scar' hero is at the bar at the moment of speaking. Please, excuse me for my misunderstooding.

I was - and I hope I made the liberty I was taking with Somerset Maugham clear - adapting the context. If the hero was at a bar, he would normally (in BE) say 'a Brandy'; I think Mike said, in an earlier post, just 'Brandy' would do in some contexts in AmE.

But if a man had gone into the bar and just said 'Get me a drink - something strong', and the barman said 'Whisky? Brandy? Gin?...' - then the answer would be 'Brandy'.

b

[PINKGREAT]

Thank you very much.

[BobK]

Thank you very much.

You're welcome

I've just thought, your doubt about tea as against other drinks could be due to the use of 'tea' to express time: 'time for tea' is more likely than 'time for brandy'.

b