Which variant is correct and why? 1.Salad is a good starter. 2. A salad is a good starter. 3. The salad is a good starter.
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I wonder this as well. You most probably will be asked to add the context. Because it is hard to answer to your question without it.– Nurbol AlpysbayevCommented Dec 8, 2018 at 17:43
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Unfortunately, there is no context. This is a test my studrnts have to do, but I do not know the answer myself)))– AnnaCommented Dec 8, 2018 at 18:55
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1 Answer
In isolation, this looks like a poorly-cast test question.
Salad is a good starter.
Beef is a good starter.
Singular nouns that stand without a determiner are regarded as uncountable nouns or mass nouns.
A salad is a good starter.
An appetizer is a good starter.
In contrast, singular nouns with a determiner that marks number are regarded, unsurprisingly, as countable nouns.
The word "salad" falls into both categories. It has a countable sense that's similar to words like "appetizer" and "serving", and a uncountable sense that's similar to words like "beef" and "pork".
The salad is a good starter.
The beef is a good starter.
The appetizer is a good starter.
Not every determiner marks number. This "the" simply marks that something else in the context will distinguish which salad, beef or appetizer is the reference in question.
Unless we have something else to distinguish which semantics are more relevant, we can't tell you which grammatical form is more appropriate.
