Cerca tra vari insegnanti di Inglese...
icespirit
Do we need "a" in the sentence?
He never takes a sick leave.
I found that leave is an uncountable noun. So can we use "a" here in the sentence?
11 giu 2013 00:59
Risposte · 5
2
He never takes sick leave.
He has never taken a sick leave.
You've already had two sick leaves, so I can't give you another.
Yes, "leave" is uncountable, but some uncountables turn into countables under certain conditions. Examples:
I like coffee.
I'd like a coffee right now.
It's not worth trying to explain. You'll pick it up as you go along.
11 giugno 2013
2
You can use "a" in the sentence.
You have to say, "he took leave" (and *NOT* "he took a leave.")
However, when there is a modifier (an adjective, or an adjectival phrase), modern English allows (and indeed sometimes prefers) use of the indefinite article.
Therefore, I would say: 'he took leave,' but 'he took a sick leave' and 'he took a leave of absence.'
Nevertheless, in a longer sentence, you can very well say "three weeks after he took sick leave, he returned to work," or "In 1942, he took leave of absence to establish a US Office of War Information in London."
Unfortunately, in many instances, as a native speaker of English I can "tell" when to use or not to use an article, but I can't always explain why...
Hope this was helpful nonetheless.
11 giugno 2013
Non hai ancora trovato le tue risposte?
Scrivi le tue domande e lascia che i madrelingua ti aiutino!
icespirit
Competenze linguistiche
Cinese (mandarino), Inglese
Lingua di apprendimento
Inglese
Altri articoli che potrebbero piacerti

Same Word, Different Meaning: American, British, and South African English
22 consensi · 17 Commenti

How to Sound Confident in English (Even When You’re Nervous)
17 consensi · 12 Commenti

Marketing Vocabulary and Phrases for Business English Learners
14 consensi · 6 Commenti
Altri articoli
