A case of using the indefinite article with the ordinal numeral

Обсуждение вопросов, нюансов и тонкостей грамматики английского языка любого уровня.

Модератор: zymbronia

Аватара пользователя
VictorB
Сообщения: 3397
Зарегистрирован: 26 янв 2019, 15:27
Благодарил (а): 821 раз
Поблагодарили: 707 раз

#1

Сообщение VictorB »

Here's a passage from a fiction book:
They [cops] ain’t never done a boat [a bust on a boat] before.
High-rise heroin mills, shotgun-house crack emporiums, biker clubs, gang corners—they done all that, countless times.
But a cargo boat?
That’s a first.
What puzzled me reading this is the indefinite article with "first".
It's not that I didn't know that when an ordinal numeral is not used to order things but has the meaning "one more/ (yet) another", the noun it modifies is used with the indefinite article. However, the "a" article being used with "first" - unless it's in a set phrase like a first night or a first prize - is something I can't grasp.
It seems I missed some subtle point when reading about the articles and can't figure out now what it was.
Or was it just used to follow the freewheeling, colloquial style of the entire narration?
Or maybe there's no issue concerning the grammar to be paid any, much less close attention to? :-)
Johan
Сообщения: 44
Зарегистрирован: 06 янв 2020, 23:20
Благодарил (а): 9 раз
Поблагодарили: 31 раз

#2

Сообщение Johan »

Wait a second—to me that's a noun, meaning the first instance of something which has not occurred before. Judging by the COCA, nearly a third of the occurrences is this, the rest being "possible first instances" (e.g. a first step) or "the first instances of each of a number of cases" (e.g. most Substack writers don't get many subscriptions after a first post).
За это сообщение автора Johan поблагодарил:
VictorB
Аватара пользователя
acapnotic
Сообщения: 3912
Зарегистрирован: 02 мар 2018, 07:49
Благодарил (а): 279 раз
Поблагодарили: 922 раза

#3

Сообщение acapnotic »

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries. ... sh/first_3
[countable, usually singular] first (for somebody) an important achievement, event, etc., never done or experienced before
We went on a cruise, a first for both of us.
This meeting between the two presidents is a historic first.
За это сообщение автора acapnotic поблагодарил:
VictorB
Аватара пользователя
VictorB
Сообщения: 3397
Зарегистрирован: 26 янв 2019, 15:27
Благодарил (а): 821 раз
Поблагодарили: 707 раз

#4

Сообщение VictorB »

Johan, acapnotic, thanks a lot. A first being a noun is what I did miss, and now my question seems to be pulled out of thin air. Indeed, you live and learn and there's no end to it:)
Аватара пользователя
Juliemiracle
Сообщения: 4482
Зарегистрирован: 02 мар 2018, 18:25
Благодарил (а): 1174 раза
Поблагодарили: 2564 раза

#5

Сообщение Juliemiracle »

VictorB,
btw, 'that's a first' is indeed a set phrase.
За это сообщение автора Juliemiracle поблагодарил:
VictorB
Аватара пользователя
VictorB
Сообщения: 3397
Зарегистрирован: 26 янв 2019, 15:27
Благодарил (а): 821 раз
Поблагодарили: 707 раз

#6

Сообщение VictorB »

Juliemiracle пишет: 01 дек 2021, 20:40 btw, 'that's a first' is indeed a set phrase.
Juliemiracle, thanks ever so much. And I've taken note of how to intonate it :)
Ответить
  • Похожие темы
    Ответы
    Просмотры
    Последнее сообщение

Вернуться в «Грамматика»