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I'm writing something and I'm not sure which one is correct:

  1. to have a control over
  2. to have control over

I googled and found many examples written by native speakers who in fact used the article with control, as shown below:

S Jay
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    The examples you found should be ignored. Your first instinct was correct. – aparente001 Sep 14 '16 at 04:08
  • I know that "control" is an uncountable noun and shouldn't be used with an article; I am just interested to find out if there are ever instances when an uncountable noun like "control" can be used with an article, considering the examples I found by native speakers. – S Jay Sep 15 '16 at 13:00
  • I suggest you put that in the question. Please note, any "examples written by native speakers", should appear with links so we can see the examples in context. – aparente001 Sep 15 '16 at 13:15
  • I did, it was edited out. :) I will put links, no problem. – S Jay Sep 15 '16 at 16:06
  • "the object... was to have a control over that person" (http://tinyurl.com/h3c9fsn) "the people ought to have a control over their own affairs"(http://tinyurl.com/gvarmp8) "the Constitution... is to have a control over such institutions" (http://tinyurl.com/h8rt4yl)

    While I was searching for the links, I found more examples; I can add those too if necessary.

     – S Jay Sep 15 '16 at 16:17
  • @SJay Please avoid using URL shorteners on Stack Exchange sites. You can instead use [site name](link), for example, use [Google](https://google.com) to add a link to Google – NVZ Sep 15 '16 at 16:27
  • OK, I am a newbie here as you might have already guessed. Thank you for letting me know. – S Jay Sep 15 '16 at 16:38
  • @SJay - 1834?! Are you trying to understand English as used back then, or contemporary English? – aparente001 Sep 15 '16 at 16:40
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    These examples are unexceptional. Non-count nouns can act as count nouns in various circumstances, and take articles or other determiners: a love that had no equal, my strange history and our stranger future, an ochre sand to replace the gray concrete. See e.g. When can uncountable nouns be countable? and older duplicates like The article “a/an” with uncountable nouns or Usage of an article in front of the structure “adjective + non countable noun.”. – choster Sep 15 '16 at 16:44
  • @SJay I added 1837 because that's when the material quoted was written, not when the book was written. – Andrew Leach Sep 15 '16 at 16:46
  • aparente001 I found more contemporary examples too... choster, thank you; I will check out those older posts; Andrew, ok, I thought it was a mistake – S Jay Sep 15 '16 at 16:48
  • More contemporary examples: [The Psychology of Freedom] (https://books.google.hr/books?id=02ND1qHhN1EC&pg=PA16&dq=%22+have+a+control+over+%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLgb-F6pHPAhVECpoKHYPgCjQQ6AEIJTAC#v=onepage&q=%22%20have%20a%20control%20over%20%22&f=false) (1996) – S Jay Sep 15 '16 at 16:52
  • And these ones: Reason Without Freedom (2000) and

    Human Resource Management (2005)

     – S Jay Sep 15 '16 at 16:59
  • The third example is from a book published in India, and I am not sure what to think about that in terms of native speakers (although I do believe that they are considered to be native speakers, just of a different English variety), so here is a different example just in case somebody might object: Success in Small Business Is a Laughing Matter (2007) – S Jay Sep 15 '16 at 17:06
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    Indefinite articles may be used with certain non-count noun usages in some circumstances (quite apart from countification having taken place, eg "I'll have a coffee / three coffees, please"). In 'He spoke with a great enthusiasm' the indefinite article is optional, though 'enthusiasm' cannot be considered a count usage here (*'He spoke with two / several / many [great] enthusiasms'). // This is another such example where 'a' is optional. – Edwin Ashworth May 09 '18 at 14:52

2 Answers2

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In a comment, choster wrote:

These examples are unexceptional. Non-count nouns can act as count nouns in various circumstances, and take articles or other determiners: a love that had no equal, my strange history and our stranger future, an ochre sand to replace the gray concrete. See e.g. When can uncountable nouns be countable? and older duplicates like The article “a/an” with uncountable nouns or Usage of an article in front of the structure “adjective + non countable noun.”.

tchrist
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In a comment, Edwin Ashworth wrote:

Indefinite articles may be used with certain non-count noun usages in some circumstances (quite apart from countification having taken place, eg "I'll have a coffee / three coffees, please"). In 'He spoke with a great enthusiasm' the indefinite article is optional, though 'enthusiasm' cannot be considered a count usage here (*'He spoke with two / several / many [great] enthusiasms'). // This is another such example where 'a' is optional.

tchrist
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