What's the difference?
a. They made fun of me.
b. They made a fun of me.

I think the grammar difference between those two sentences is the same as that between a sentence "in the library silence reigned" and another sentence "there was a brief silence, followed by uproar".

But I'm still confused.

Is it all about generalness and particularity ?

Could you explain the difference ?A. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

B. I saw a girl on the way to your home. She was a beauty.

C. Hey. I saw your new car. It's a beauty.

In the sentence (A), beauty is an abstract noun, so it's uncountable.

But In the sentence (B) and (C), it has become countable.

Could I understand "They made a fun of me" as "They made a fool of me" ?

Question

What's the difference?
a. They made fun of me.
b. They made a fun of me.

I think the grammar difference between those two sentences is the same as that between a sentence "in the library silence reigned" and another sentence "there was a brief silence, followed by uproar".

But I'm still confused.

Is it all about generalness and particularity ?

Could you explain the difference ?A. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

B. I saw a girl on the way to your home. She was a beauty.

C. Hey. I saw your new car. It's a beauty.

In the sentence (A), beauty is an abstract noun, so it's uncountable.

But In the sentence (B) and (C), it has become countable.

Could I understand "They made a fun of me" as "They made a fool of me" ?

Answer

There is some logic in what you are saying, so I thought I would check it out.
The meaning of the expression "to make fun of someone" is  "to make jokes about someone".
The word "a fun" at one time had the meaning of "a joke", and was a countable noun. 
An example from 1719: A Hackney Coachman he did hug her, And was not this a very good Fun? So, in the early 18th century " He made a fun of me." would probably make sense.

That meaning  is now obsolete. However, in a literary publication, The Companion to E.M. Forester, I found the following: Mrs. Failing persuaded her to believe that she did not tell a lie about Rickie and his half-brother Wonham, but Agnes still believed that Mrs. Failing had made A CRUEL FUN of Rickie. I also found, "There were some people who made A LIGHT FUN of his position at Mansfield." With a qualifying adjective it is still possibe to find "fun" as a countable noun in formal literature.

In Modern English "They made a fun of me." would not be considered correct, but "They made a joke of me" is fine.

Answer

"Beauty" can be used colloquially to describe something attractive, frequently cars or women as the examples suggest. Since fun doesn't possess the same colloquial use, it can't be used in the same way that beauty can. However, you could say, "That girls is a fun one." That would be the closest you could get to the same usage.

"They made fun of me" and "They made a fool" of me are nearly synonymous, but "They made a fool of me" implies that a prank or a ruse was played on the speaker. "They made fun of me" refers to verbal teasing.

Answer

the second sentence is grammatically incorrect.fun is an abstract,uncountable noun.

Answer

It is not possible to say "a fun". Fun is not countable.

Answers · 4

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