what's the difference between 'in hurry' and 'in a hurry'

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

Is ‘in hurry’ a valid usage?

2

I think you should say ‘I am in a hurry’ or ‘I am hurrying’. I thought that it’s correct but I googled it and found out that is not a correct usage.

Mixmixi

3

Zoobidoobi,

The short explanation to your question is that hurry can be both a noun and verb.

To let someone know that you are occupied or busy at this point in time, because you are using its noun form, you would have to say “in a hurry to…” to describe the current state you are in — by saying this, it also implies that you desperately need to continue with whatever you were doing (or else there will be some sort of consequence) and that the other party should leave you alone.

e.g. I am in a hurry to: the meeting/catch the train/finish my exam etc

When using hurry as a verb, you’d have to consider whether you have an object to use it with or not, for example:

Without obj - “Hurry (up), it’s starting to rain”
With obj - to hurry someone into a decision

Hope this answers your question,

Leaderofrogue

4

Thank you Leaderofroque.

5

Yes, it does answer my question. Thanks!

6

Hi,

Your answer is good .

You have explained it well.

Thanks