# What (a) strange coffee



## Alejandro1

Hola buenas.

Al utilizar el “a” o no utilizarlo me surge la duda.

 por ejemplo.


 ______ strange coffe!


a) what a
b) what


 muchas gracias.
 un saludo

*Nota de moderación: Lo siento, pero solo se permite una consulta por hilo. *


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## duvija

¿Podrías dar primero tu versión? Sería más fácil de explicar.


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## Alejandro1

duvija said:


> ¿Podrías dar primero tu versión? Sería más fácil de explicar.




Según tengo entendido el "a" se usa con nombres singulares. Y no se usa con nombres plurales.

Podrias explicarme como lo harias tu

gracias


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## blasita

Alejandro1 said:


> Según tengo entendido el "a" se usa con nombres singulares. Y no se usa con nombres plurales.



Sí, más o menos es así. Aquí (en exclamativas como esta) también depende del sustantivo:

_What a/an (+ adjetivo) + sustantivo contable en singular_ (ej. What a nice jacket!).
_What (+ adjetivo) + sustantivo no contable o sustantivo contable en plura_l (ej. What lovely weather! What nice people!)

Lo de 'what (a) strange coffee' creo que podría ser posible gramaticalmente ('coffee' can be countable and uncountable), pero no sé, suena un poco raro fuera de contexto. ¿Estás traduciendo algo? ¿Dónde has encontrado esta frase, por favor?

Saludos.


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## Stokkard

What a strange coffee


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## blasita

Stokkard said:


> What a strange coffee



Thanks, Stokkard. Why would "What strange coffee" be incorrect, please?


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## duvija

blasita said:


> Thanks, Stokkard. Why would "What strange coffee" be incorrect, please?



And following this: "What strange coffees" would be ok? (I assume different brands or selection of 'coffees')


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## blasita

duvija said:


> And following this: "What strange coffees" would be ok? (I assume different brands or selection of 'coffees')



I'm pretty sure that 'What X coffees!' is correct because 'coffee' can be countable too. I'd actually think of some coffees (=some cups of coffee), but I think that what you're saying about different kinds of coffee might be okay too.

Pero insisto en que me gustaría tener algo de contexto. No me suena todo esto muy natural, pero no sé por qué. A ver si algún otro forero da su opinión.


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## Agró

En una cata/degustación de cafés de distinta procedencia:

En el turno del café de Navarra: 
Puajjj! What strange coffee!

(imagino)


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## blasita

Sí, perfecto (sí a decir 'coffee' en ese contexto, no a que el café de Navarra sea malo - además, nunca lo he probado, que yo sepa).

Agró, pero ¿no te parece que el plural sería también correcto en general?


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## Agró

blasita said:


> Sí, perfecto (sí a decir 'coffee' en ese contexto, no a que el café de Navarra sea malo - además, nunca lo he probado, que yo sepa).
> 
> Agró, pero ¿no te parece que el plural sería también correcto en general?



Pues, sí, en la línea de Duvija, me parece correcto: distintos tipos de café.

(ni que decir tiene que no hay café navarro; por eso sería _strange_)


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## k-in-sc

"What strange coffee": normal
"What a strange coffee": in some kind of "degustación" situation
"What strange coffees": "degustación" of multiple types of coffee


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## Agró

k-in-sc said:


> "What strange coffee": normal
> "What a strange coffee": in some kind of "degustación" situation
> "What strange coffees": "degustación" of multiple types of coffee



No hemos dado una; justo al revés.


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## k-in-sc

No, not at all, you can say "what strange coffee" at a coffee tasting too -- it's the normal way. I was just trying to think of a situation when you would say "what a strange coffee," which definitely sounds odd.
The person who endorsed "what a strange coffee" above is not a native speaker.


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## blasita

Gracias, Agró y K. Pero, en general (no hay contexto en este hilo), ¿podría alguien comentar sobre lo que yo he dicho y corregir lo que sea necesario, por favor? Me he perdido.


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## k-in-sc

Coffee would be countable in some situations. The ones that come to mind are types of coffee and restaurant jargon. A cup of coffee is usually "a coffee" only in restaurants. "Three coffees and two pies" = "Three cups of coffee and two pieces of pie."


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## blasita

k-in-sc said:


> Coffee would be countable in some situations. The ones that come to mind are types of coffee and restaurant jargon. A cup of coffee is usually "a coffee" only in restaurants. "Three coffees and two pies" = "Three cups of coffee and two pieces of pie."



Thank you. So, I think we agree then, but I may be wrong ...


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## k-in-sc

Well, it's common to hear Spanish speakers say "a coffee" when we in the U.S. would say "a cup of coffee."


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## blasita

Yes, you're right, K. But, in my experience, _a coffee, two coffees_, etc. is more often heard in BrE than in AmE (not only among Spanish speakers).


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## k-in-sc

Yes, they say it.


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## Stokkard

blasita said:


> Thanks, Stokkard. Why would "What strange coffee" be incorrect, please?


“What strange coffee” is also grammatically correct. People say “what a strange coffee” because of the force of habit, I suppose. This is the best explanation I can give. For some historic reasons some expressions are used more often than the others. 

Similar expressions are: “what a strange story”, “what a spectacular escape”, “what an outstanding work of art”, etc.


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## k-in-sc

People don't say "what a strange coffee."
Blasita already explained why.


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## Stokkard

Apparently, people use both expressions:

“it's *a strange coffee* that you will either love 
or hate”

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22610/70494


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## k-in-sc

Meaning "a strange* kind *of coffee."  
That quote isn't even about coffee. It's about coffee flavor in beer.
S: The malt notes seem fairly appropriate for the style. Toffee and caramel (for the most part) with a bit of dark fruits. There is a fair amount of toast and bread, but there's a strange coffee and roast to it, too.



k-in-sc said:


> "What strange coffee": normal
> "What a strange coffee":* in some kind of "degustación" situation*
> "What strange coffees": "degustación" of multiple types of coffee


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## Alejandro1

Os comento, esa frase la he sacado de un libro de test. me estoy preparando un examen de ingles y estoy haciendo ejercicios de diversos test. Y la frase viene tal cual:
 ______ strange coffe!    y vienen mcuchas frases como esa, y en algunas si se que poner, porque veo que en un sustantivo plural y no puede llevar "a", pero me encuentro con otras que yo pondria una cosa y viene otra como: well, how clever that boy is!  yo en esa pondria la "a" porque boy es singular, pero me aparece la solucion asi...


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## Agró

Alejandro1 said:


> Os comento, esa frase la he sacado de un libro de test. me estoy preparando un examen de ingles y estoy haciendo ejercicios de diversos test. Y la frase viene tal cual:
> ______ strange coffe!    y vienen mcuchas frases como esa, y en algunas si se que poner, porque veo que en un sustantivo plural y no puede llevar "a", pero me encuentro con otras que yo pondria una cosa y viene otra como: well, how clever that boy is!  yo en esa pondria la "a" porque boy es singular, pero me aparece la solucion asi...



Pero no es lo mismo. Mira:
What a clever boy!: Qué chico más inteligente. (what modifica al nombre boy)
How clever that boy is!: Qué inteligente es ese chico. (how modifica al adjetivo clever)


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## Alejandro1

Me puedes explicar eso un poco mejor, que no lo acabo de entender.
gracias.



Agró said:


> Pero no es lo mismo. Mira:
> What a clever boy!: Qué chico más inteligente. (what modifica al nombre boy)
> How clever that boy is!: Qué inteligente es ese chico. (how modifica al adjetivo clever)


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## k-in-sc

In this case you're supposed to know that it means coffee as an uncountable substance, not a countable cup of coffee.


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## Agró

Alejandro1 said:


> Me puedes explicar eso un poco mejor, que no lo acabo de entender.
> gracias.



Exclamaciones en inglés:
1. What a/an + adjetivo + nombre. Si el nombre está en plural, no hay artículo:
What a beautiful woman! What beautiful women!

2. How + adjetivo:
How beautiful!

2a. How + adjetivo + (determinante) + nombre + verbo:
How beautiful Lisa is!
How clever that boy is!


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## Alejandro1

Agró said:


> Exclamaciones en inglés:
> 1. What a/an + adjetivo + nombre. Si el nombre está en plural, no hay artículo:
> What a beautiful woman! What beautiful women!
> 
> 2. How + adjetivo:
> How beautiful!
> 
> 2a. How + adjetivo + (determinante) + nombre + verbo:
> How beautiful Lisa is!
> How clever that boy is!



Entonces, siempre que la frase sea: how___ adjetivo,   en ese hueco nunca ponemos "a"

¿lo he entendido bien?


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## Agró

Alejandro1 said:


> Entonces, siempre que la frase sea: how___ adjetivo,   en ese hueco nunca ponemos "a"
> 
> ¿lo he entendido bien?



Perfectamente.


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## Alejandro1

ok, eso ya claro, gracias.
ahora en otras preguntas me dan a elegir entre "what" "what a" "how" "how a", ¿como se cual tendría que elegir entre el what y el how?


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## Stokkard

When someone says, “What a strange coffee”, he implies 
 that this particular coffee has a strange smell and/or taste.


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## Wildcat1

Stokkard said:


> What a strange coffee


For a question on an English-language test, this is the wrong answer.  "coffee" is (normally) a non-count noun and as such would not take "a".

"What a strange coffee" is possible in a context that emphasizes the concept of different types of coffee as discrete entities, but "What strange coffee" is the normal structure.


Stokkard said:


> “What  strange coffee” is also grammatically correct. People say “what a  strange coffee” because of the force of habit, I suppose.


a) People _don't_ tend to include "a".
b) It has nothing to do with force of habit.  The presence vs absence of "a" signals a different conception of what "coffee" is.


Stokkard said:


> Similar expressions are: “what a strange story”, “what a spectacular escape”, “what an outstanding work of art”, etc.


No, these are _not_ similar. They _must _have "a" because "story", "escape" and "work" are traditional count nouns.


Stokkard said:


> When someone says, “What a strange coffee”, he implies
> that this particular coffee has a strange smell and/or taste.


I don't see that.  Given coffee with a strange smell or taste, the "default" comment is "What strange coffee!".  Again, "What a strange coffee" is _possible_, where one is viewing the coffee as a countable "type", but the "a" doesn't draw out the strange small/taste interpretation.

Edit: In this post I'm agreeing with things others have said; sorry not to give credit.  I think my post is worthwhile because only two English native speakers have replied (and I have some strong disagreements with one of them).


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## k-in-sc

Wildcat1 said:


> Edit: In this post I'm agreeing with things others have said; sorry not to give credit. I think my post is worthwhile because only two English native speakers have replied (and I have some strong disagreements with one of them).


One native English speaker and one non-native listing himself as a native replied. 
This is why it's against forum rules to misstate your native language. Passing off your opinions and interpretations as those of a native is unfair to other forum members.


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