No article before lipstick? I took an English listening test. The dialogues from the audio goes: W: Dad, this Sunday is Mom’s birthday. M : I know. Did you find a good present for her? W: Yes, I boug

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No article before lipstick? I took an English listening test. The dialogues from the audio goes: W: Dad, this Sunday is Mom’s birthday. M : I know. Did you find a good present for her? W: Yes, I bought nice lipstick. I’m sure she’ll like it. ........ (https://clyp.it/cecndf1b) I think that an article "a" must be inserted before 'nice lipstick', but the speaker did not say it, right? Even the script had no "a". I'm confused. Is it really correct without "a"? Since it's an official test, I doubt they didn't have English native speakers proofread it. Confirm please.

Sep 29, 2019 7:21 AM

Answers · 10

If you’ll check any dictionary, you’ll see that lipstick can be countable or uncountable. If uncountable, it doesn’t require any article. I usually use it uncountably (the word, not the product). In other words, no article is required. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/lipstick?q=lipstick https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/lipstick

September 29, 2019

I agree with you that it should have an article. I would say either: Yes, I bought (HER) A nice lipstick Yes, I bought (HER) SOME nice lipstick

September 29, 2019

(Canadian answer) For my wife and her daughters, lipstick is uncountable. Examples: I bought shampoo and lipstick today. I'm going to give Chantelle red lipstick for her birthday.

September 29, 2019

Emma is right. "Lipstick" can be a count noun or a non-count noun, so either "a" or "some" would work. But just "I bought nice lipstick" doesn't sound right in this context.

September 29, 2019

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