What's the difference between heavy rain and a heavy rain?

[popri]

I know the noun "rain" is uncountable.
I also know that it is often used with indefinite article when the word is used with adjective such as heavy.
What is the subtle nuance with a and without a?

EX.
A heavy rain is expected this afternoon.
Heavy rain is expected this afternoon.

 

[emsr2d2]

"A heavy rain" is incorrect.
Note the correct spelling of "indefinite".

 

[popri]

Thanks for pointing out the error. I've corrected it.

Would you please tell me why "A heavy rain is expected." is incorrect?
If indefinite article is used, how does it sound to you?

What about "We had a heavy rain last night."?
I guess it should be correct because it's in the dictionary, but I have no idea when I should use a heavy rain and when I should not.

 

[popri]

Aha!
I understand now.
Thank you so much.
Studying English is so deep!

 

[Matthew Wai]

I would say 'English is so difficult to learn'.

 

[Rover_KE]

Studying English is so deep!

So are puddles after heavy rain.

 

[Skrej]

Sometimes deeper than you think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWKUeV5B4mI

http://www.collegehumor.com/post/7002550/10-puddles-that-were-way-deeper-than-they-appeared

 

[Tdol]

We don't normally use it for the future, possibly because we don't know how long it will last.

Bob Dylan used it metaphorically for a grim future, but he was not a meteorologist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ex-m-eEKsg

 

[Matthew Wai]

Studying English is so deep!

I think 'English grammar is so deep' makes more sense.

 

[popri]

Q1. Do you feel native speakers would not say "Studying something is so deep."?
Q2. I'm not sure why you wrote "So are puddles after heavy rain."
If it's a kind of joke, it's so embarrassing to ask you its meaning, but I don't understand because of my English level.
First, I misunderstood that you were playing a word game, like "you must be puzzled after a lecture of heavy rain and a heavy rain."
What do you mean by that?

 

[Matthew Wai]

Q1. Do you feel native speakers would not say "Studying something is so deep."?

This non-native would not say it.

Q2. I'm not sure why you wrote "So are puddles after heavy rain."
If it's a kind of joke, it's so embarrassing to ask you its meaning, but I don't understand because of my English level.

I think the joke was intended to show that 'deep' had been used incorrectly in your sentence.

PS It is not embarrassing at all for a learner like you and me to make mistakes.

 

[probus]

I strongly disagree that "a heavy rain" is incorrect or unnatural. I have both heard it and used it many times. For example "A heavy rain (or one heavy rain) is all it would take to save this year's crop."

To go back to the beginning of this thread "A heavy rain is expected in the afternoon" is also correct and natural to my ear.

c.f. "It's a hard rain a gonna fall." Why couldn't it it be "... a heavy rain ..." apart from the lack of poetry?

 

[popri]

Thank you for teaching.
I understand that the usage of a heavy rain and heavy rain is controversial even among native speakers.

What about Question No. 2?
I’d like any of native teachers to correct my English because I had checked the word “deep” in the dictionary before I wrote it.
I thought it’s similar to the following: That book looks like a fairy-tale, but it is actually deep.
I was going to use “profound” instead of “deep”, but I didn’t.

I’ve studied English on and off for more than some decades, but there are lots of things I still don’t know. That’s why I wanted to say English is difficult. But I wanted to focus on the depth of studying, the long road to the expert, something like that. What would you native speakers say? What phrases are more natural? I want to speak English like native speakers do.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I had checked the word “deep” in the dictionary before I wrote it.

Which definition there do you think fits your sentence in post #5?

I’ve studied English on and off for more than some decades, but there are lots of things I still don’t know.

It is the same in my case.

 

[Tdol]

It is the same in my case.

I've lived it for many decades, and taught it for a fair few, and it is the same in my case. ;-)

 

[kilroy65]

That book looks like a fairy-tale, but it is actually deep.
I was going to use “profound” instead of “deep”, but I didn’t.

You could say There is more to the book than meets the eye.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/be-more-to-this-than-meets-the-eye

 

[GoesStation]

I understand that the usage of a heavy rain and heavy rain is controversial even among native speakers.

I wouldn't say it's controversial, though this thread may suggest it is. A heavy rain also seems perfectly natural to me. Perhaps it's more common in American English.

 

[popri]

Thank you so much. I would be able to speak English better from now on.
Anyway, then, does it sound better when I rewrite from “Studying English is deep.” to “There is more to studying English than meets the eye.”?
No NATIVE speakers tell me why “Studying English is deep.” is wrong. And I’m still confused. As Matthew Wai pointed out, should I change my sentence from “Studying English is deep” to “English grammar is deep.”? Or should I not use “deep” for action?

 

[probus]

With respect to the original question I agree with GoesStation. This thread seems to have divided on geographical lines. Speakers of AmE consider "a heavy rain" acceptable while speakers of BrE do not

 

[Matthew Wai]

No NATIVE speakers tell me why “Studying English is deep.” is wrong. And I’m still confused. As Matthew Wai pointed out, should I change my sentence from “Studying English is deep” to “English grammar is deep.”?

No native speaker has told you why, so this non-native has a try. It seems wrong because it means 'Studying English is difficult to understand', which does not make much sense, while 'English grammar is deep' means 'English grammar is difficult to understand', which should make more sense.

I wanted to focus on the depth of studying

Studying English involves deep thinking.