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#2 (permalink) Thu Mar 27, 2008 23:08 pm an ability v.s. ability |
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well you cannot put an 'a' in front of considerable because it is not definite, you dont know exactly how much, and with a natural ability it is about one certain ability specified
btw i'm also a non-native speaker |
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Traveler New Member
Joined: 27 Mar 2008 Posts: 2
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#3 (permalink) Fri Mar 28, 2008 12:36 pm an ability v.s. ability |
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Hi, Traveller
Thanks for your thoughts.  But to remove doubts from the matter, could a native English speaker have a whirl at it, please? |
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Lost_Soul I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 15 Sep 2006 Posts: 1861 Location: South Park, Colorado, USA
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#4 (permalink) Fri Mar 28, 2008 13:58 pm an ability v.s. ability |
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The first sentence indicates that he is a capable person in general, and you couldn't put "a" before it.
In the second sentence, the person has the specific ability to play the piano -- therefore you use "a" -- but he may not be a capable person in general. There are some retarded people who are geniuses at playing the piano, for example, but in general they don't have a lot of ability. |
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 5332 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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#5 (permalink) Fri Mar 28, 2008 14:04 pm an ability v.s. ability |
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| Quote: |
| well you cannot put an 'a' in front of considerable because it is not definite, you dont know exactly how much, |
?He has a considerable sum of money hidden under the bed. |
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Molly I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008 Posts: 4017
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#6 (permalink) Fri Mar 28, 2008 14:07 pm an ability v.s. ability |
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| Molly wrote: |
| Quote: |
| well you cannot put an 'a' in front of considerable because it is not definite, you dont know exactly how much, |
?He has a considerable sum of money hidden under the bed. |
It has nothing to do with the word "considerable". It's all about the noun that comes after it. Article usage is based on the noun, not on the adjective. |
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 5332 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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#7 (permalink) Fri Mar 28, 2008 14:16 pm an ability v.s. ability |
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Hi, Jamie
Thank you very much !
| Jamie (K) wrote: |
| There are some retarded people who are geniuses at playing the piano, for example, but in general they don't have a lot of ability. |
I just remembered a word for those people: idiot savants, right?  |
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Lost_Soul I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 15 Sep 2006 Posts: 1861 Location: South Park, Colorado, USA
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#8 (permalink) Fri Mar 28, 2008 16:05 pm an ability v.s. ability |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: |
| Molly wrote: |
| Quote: |
| well you cannot put an 'a' in front of considerable because it is not definite, you dont know exactly how much, |
?He has a considerable sum of money hidden under the bed. |
It has nothing to do with the word "considerable". It's all about the noun that comes after it. Article usage is based on the noun, not on the adjective. |
Tell that to traveler. |
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Molly I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008 Posts: 4017
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#9 (permalink) Fri Mar 28, 2008 16:06 pm an ability v.s. ability |
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| lost_soul wrote: |
Hi, Jamie
Thank you very much !
| Jamie (K) wrote: |
| There are some retarded people who are geniuses at playing the piano, for example, but in general they don't have a lot of ability. |
I just remembered a word for those people: idiot savants, right?  |
It is a mistake to think of such people as geniuses. |
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Molly I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008 Posts: 4017
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#10 (permalink) Fri Mar 28, 2008 16:54 pm an ability v.s. ability |
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what does traveler need to know? i might have given an inadequate explanation, i should have used countable instead of definite, sorry! and yes it refers to nouns |
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Traveler New Member
Joined: 27 Mar 2008 Posts: 2
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| usage of ABOVE | Test of vocabulary: How many meanings of the words in the paragraph below? |