"such awful food" vs. "such a awful food"

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello everybody!

Could you clarify to me why in following sentence we should use “such” instead of “such a” …

“The food at the hotel was so awful. I’ve never eaten such awful food.”

kind regards,
Zajac!

2

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‘Food’ here is uncountable, so no ‘a’.
.

3

Food is uncountable here, Zajac

Edit: MM, you proved to be the fastest. :wink:

4

‘Food’ doesn’t take an indefinite article in your sentence because the noun is uncountable here.

Edit: Oops! Well, better three than none.

5

thanks!

I should remember about that!

Zajac

6

Even if the noun is countable , we cannot say “such a awful…” because the adjective begins with a vowel .

7

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‘More haste, less speed’. Thanks, Sultano.
.

8

This might be off-topic, but I find it interesting to compare this saying with its French and Spanish equivalents, which are, respectively:

  • Hurry up slowly.

  • Dress me slowly, I’m in a hurry.