Dear Mr Ebenezer Adu.
Although I am neither good at English nor a native speaker, I think I can help you in your case. You are a little confused here.
Speaking of your example, the article “a” modifies “piece”, not “information”.
For instance:
Can you give me a piece of paper (of course “paper” is uncountable) (this means a small part of paper)
Also, you can examine this sentence:
I have a dozen eggs ( article “a” modifies “dozen”, not “eggs”. If you think “a” modifies “information” so “a” in this example modifies a plural noun?)
Thanks all,
Luschen, so always should I expect ‘a’ to be preceded by countable nouns? Please confirm.
Besides, can I say the following: Give me “a piece of” fish( for one to give me a snippet of its flesh) or is “a piece of” only apportioned for uncountable nouns?.
Generally, “a” and “the” can only be used before countable nouns - is that your first question?
“A piece of” would mean something different if it preceded a countable noun. “I found a piece of tire on the side of the road.” means a part broken off from the whole.
A piece of a car means a small part of it. It implies that the part may not be readily identifiable. If you carefully take a car apart you end up with 1000 parts of a car. If you blow it up with a bomb, you end up with 1000 pieces of a car.
[quote=“Quang72”]
Dear Mr Ebenezer Adu.
Although I am neither good at English nor a native speaker, I think I can help you in your case. You are a little confused here.
Speaking of your example, the article “a” modifies “piece”, not “information”.
For instance:
Can you give me a piece of paper (of course “paper” is uncountable)
Hi, I have had a glimpse of the following somewhere
Give me the paperS!. Here is it wrong to add S to this uncountable noun. Please confirm.
The articles became very important when we use the comparative “as…as” It isn’t all the same if the noun after the second as is a countable. uncountable, plural noun.
IF IT IS COUNTABLE IS EASY:
-as pretty as a picture
-as mad as a hatter
-as drunk as a lord
IF IT IS UNCOUNTABLE WE HAVE TO PUT NO ARTICLE
-as good as gold
-as large as life
-as pale as death
-as ugly as sin
-as clear as mud
-as wise as Solomon (here we compare with a person!)
-as right as rain
-as sure as death and taxes
If the noun is plural there isn’t article
-as scarce as hen’s teeth
-as thick as two short planks
-as hard as nails
-as thick as thieves
IF THE NOUN IS DEFINITE WE PUT 'THE"-MEANS ALL THE THINGS REFERRED TO BY A NOUN . Here: all the hills/ all the dodo/ all the dead/
-As old as the hill
-As dead as the dodo (dodo is extinct bird)
-as silent as the dead
-As plain as the nose on your face (Here is about a certain nose which is determined)
-as white as the sheet