Why is there an "a" in this sentence?
The sentence is this :
I've had "a" tough few months.
I think there shouldn't be "a" because months is plural and when a noun is pluralized we can't put an "a" before it. But that sentence was in Longman dictionary so it must be correct. I just can't understand why.
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 11
2
The "a" doesn't refer to the plural noun "months' - it is part of the quantitive expression A FEW, meaning "several". The speaker's life has been tough for 'a few months' now.
1
There is a difference between "a few" and "few"
eg. A few oranges[cannot be 0] > few orange[it can even be 0] in terms of quantity. Same with "A little" and "little"
so if we go by that, saying
A few tough months is more concrete than just saying few tough months.
I've had a few tough times/ I've had few tough months. both are correct as far as i know. The difference being that the 1st one is more asserting than the 2nd.
1
Even if plural (more than one month), it's referring to one period. In other words, I've had a time tough time.
1
Well usually when you write a sentence you have to use a, an, or the to mark the subject . Unless you are using a persons name.
In this case "a" fits the best.
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