There is always a choice (countability and article usage).

[Alexey86]

No, not really. Only the second.

Tarheel in comment #13 said I could say this if I want to convey the meaning of the general ability/possibility to choose. Maybe I got him wrong.

So, it would be incorrect to say, "As a human being, you have a choice." I can't say, "As a human being, you have choice" either. What options do I have then?

 

[jutfrank]

I can't account for Tarheel's answer, I'm afraid. Perhaps you misunderstood what he meant.

As a human being, you have freedom of choice.

Notice that the noun phrase freedom of choice is uncountable because you're speaking about choice in very general terms.

Alternatively:

As a human being, you are free to choose ...
As a human being, you have freedom to choose ...

 

[Alexey86]

Notice that the noun phrase freedom of choice is uncountable because you're speaking about choice in very general terms.

Should I use "the" if I want to contrast two types of freedom, for example, "Today I want to speak about (the) freedom of choice, not (the) freedom of speech"?

 

[jutfrank]

You could, yes, but it's not necessary to do so. The of choice bit already specifies what kind of freedom you mean.

I'm afraid the sentence of mine in #22 you quoted was not what I had intended to say. Please allow me to correct it now:

Notice that the noun phrase choice is uncountable because you're speaking about choice in very general terms.

 

[Tarheel]

I think people usually say "freedom of religion" or "freedom of speech" without an article.

 

[Alexey86]

Lexico provides the following examples (https://www.lexico.com/definition/choice):

1) We are concerned about the people and their ability to have choice.
2) Of course, people will still debate whether, if women had real choice, they might choose sex work.
3) In reality, it is the schools that choose, and parental choice becomes almost meaningless.


The bolded parts can be substituted by "their ability to choose" (1), "had the real right to choose" (2), and "the parental right/ability to choose" (3), respectively.

It seems I'm missing the crucial point of your explanations, because I can't see why "As a human being, you have choice" and "You think everything in our life is predetermined, but I believe we have choice" are incorrect. The last parts could be substituted by "have the ability to choose" as well.

If it's just a matter of naturalness, I'm ready to take it for granted. But if it's ungrammatical, I'm perplexed.

Suppose someone complains, "I want to give up smoking, but I can't", to which the other replies, "There's always a choice."

teechar said,
That reply would not be considered natural in English.

What reply would be more natural if I want to use "choice" or "to choose"?

 

[teechar]

Lexico provides the following examples (https://www.lexico.com/definition/choice):

1) We are concerned about the people and their ability to have choice.

That sentence does not sound great to me. Just because a sentence appears in a dictionary, it does not mean that it is well written.

... because I can't see why "As a human being, you have choice" and "You think that everything in our life is predetermined, but I believe we have choice" are incorrect.

To me "have choice" can nearly always be rephrased as "have a choice" which is much better.

What reply would be more natural if I want to use "choice" or "to choose"?

- I want to give up smoking, but I can't.
- Of course you can! The matter is entirely in your hands. You (do) have a choice.
or
- Of course you can! It's up to you to choose not to smoke.

 

[jutfrank]

It seems I'm missing the crucial point of your explanations, because I can't see why "As a human being, you have choice" and "You think everything in our life is predetermined, but I believe we have choice" are incorrect.

Who said I believe we have choice is incorrect? Grammatically and logically, it is correct. If anybody said it wasn't, they mean that it doesn't sound natural, or that there are better ways of expressing it.

If it's just a matter of naturalness, I'm ready to take it for granted. But if it's ungrammatical, I'm perplexed.

Well, there's no need to be perplexed because I think you understand correctly.

 

[Alexey86]

teechar said,
To me "have choice" can nearly always be rephrased as "have a choice" which is much better.

Leaving aside (un)naturalness, don't you think it will affect the meaning a bit?

"As a human being, you have choice (the ability to choose)/have a choice (in any given situation you can make a choice)."

Or, is this difference insignificant to you?

 

[Tarheel]

Leaving aside (un)naturalness, don't you think it would affect the meaning a bit?

"As a human being, you have choice (the ability to choose)/have a choice (in any given situation you can make a choice)."

Or, is this difference insignificant to you?

Lacking context, it's hard for me to see a meaningful difference between the two.

Have you heard of the law of diminishing returns?

 

[Alexey86]

Have you heard of the law of diminishing returns?

I've read the Wiki article about it, but I don't get what you are hinting at.

 

[Tarheel]

There comes a point where you're not really making any progress, and it's time to move on to something else.

 

[Alexey86]

There comes a point where you're not really making any progress, and it's time to move on to something else.

Actually, I've found out almost everything I wanted to know. And thank you all for that. I agree that this discussion has grown too large, so I'll leave it at that. I need to learn to ask clear and concise questions so that discussions are more focused.

 

[Tarheel]

Actually, I've found out almost everything I wanted to know. And thank you all for that. I agree that this discussion has grown too long, so I'll leave it at that. I need to learn to ask clear and concise questions so that discussions are more focused.

English is tricky isn't it?