opera

[Unregistered]

Which is correct? opera is a type of music so it should be uncountable right


I went to an opera for three days
I went to opera for three days
I went to the opera for three days

 

[Soup]

[1] I went to an opera for three days. :tick:
=> The name of the opera isn't important.

[2] I listened to/watched an opera for three days. :tick:
[3] I listened to/watched the opera for three days. :tick:
=> The name of the opera is known to listener.

[3] I went to opera for three days. :cross:
=> Opera is a count noun.

[4] I went to the opera [house] for three days. :cross:
=> The opera is a place; it's short for "opera house". You can't go to a place for three days. You can, however, stay there for three days.

[5] I stayed at the opera [house] for three days. :tick:

 

[rewboss]

"Opera" can be countable or uncountable, depending on what you are trying to say.

Uncountable: a style of music

Countable: a story set in a particular fashion; or, a building in which opera is performed, an opera house.

So you may be a fan of opera (uncountable). But if I asked you what your three favourite operas (countable) are, you could say, for example, Madame Butterfly, Aida and The Marriage of Figaro.

If you say you went to the opera for three days, you mean that over a period of three days, you repeatedly went to the opera house to watch and listen to some opera.

"I made a New Year's Resolution to be more culturally aware. So I decided to watch one opera every day. I went to the opera for three days, but I found it very boring and much too expensive. So the day after, I watched football."