is "view" countable or uncountable?

[optimistic pessimist]

Dear all,

a place with nice view/ a place with a nice view

Like the case above, when "view" means a sight, is it a countable noun or an uncountable one? I googled both and found a lot of both. It seems that both can be fine. Is this just a matter of preference? Or am I missing something?

Thank you!

OP

 

[AlexAD]

Hello.

I am not a teacher nor a native speaker.
So, you shouldn't take what I'm going to say on trust.

But, let me give it a shot. Here is an excerpt from the OALD, 8th edition:

3 [uncountable,  singular] used when you are talking about whether you can see sth or whether sth can be seen in a particular situation
The lake soon came into view .
The sun disappeared from view .
There was nobody in view .
Sit down—you're blocking my view.
I didn't have a good view of the stage.

4 [countable] what you can see from a particular place or position, especially beautiful countryside
There were magnificent views of the surrounding countryside.
The view from the top of the tower was spectacular.
a sea/mountain view
I'd like a room with a view.

As you might have noticed they use a good view at point 3, althought it's an uncountable noun. I reckon it's because they're speaking about a sort of view here. The same should be applied to your example.

 

[BobK]

Dear all,

a place with nice view/ a place with a nice view

Like the case above, when "view" means a sight, is it a countable noun or an uncountable one? I googled both and found a lot of both. It seems that both can be fine. Is this just a matter of preference? Or am I missing something?

Thank you!

OP

Countable. The place has a nice view (or nice views). The reason for the large number of counter-examples, especially on the internet, is that people tend to omit articles in advertisements, so a lonely hearts advertiser would claim to have 'GSOH [{a} good sense of humour]' and someone trying to sell a house would refer to it as having 'h&c, en-suite, near shops, good view'.

b