An eagerness and unspoken fear

[Tom]

Hi

Please see the given sentence. Aren't eagerness and fear uncountable nouns? Why is the author using them as countables? Is it normal to use it this way?

1- There was an eagerness and a fear in both of them.

If I write the sentence leaving out the an and a, how would it sound?

Tom

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

Interesting question. Where did you dig this sentence up?

The word fear can be countable and uncountable, but eagerness is only uncountable.

From the way eagerness and fear are used in the sentence, the author seems to be saying (but not writing ) "a sense/element/feeling of eagerness and a sense/element/feeling of fear".

This sort of usage doesn't follow the usual "rules" but it also does not seem odd to me.

Amy
_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Tom]

Loads of thanks, Amy!

I would like to repeat something again!

If I write the sentence leaving out the an and a, how would it sound?

- There was eagerness and fear in both of them.

(Does it sound better than that???)

Tom