A or no article? “He is_____ racist.”












5















Why in most cases do not put the article "a", when you enter the sentence in the search?
In the example on this site, the article is adding (OALD (American English))



Just enter in the search and you will see that everywhere in different ways.




He is a racist




and




He is not a racist/I'm not a racist











share|improve this question





























    5















    Why in most cases do not put the article "a", when you enter the sentence in the search?
    In the example on this site, the article is adding (OALD (American English))



    Just enter in the search and you will see that everywhere in different ways.




    He is a racist




    and




    He is not a racist/I'm not a racist











    share|improve this question



























      5












      5








      5


      2






      Why in most cases do not put the article "a", when you enter the sentence in the search?
      In the example on this site, the article is adding (OALD (American English))



      Just enter in the search and you will see that everywhere in different ways.




      He is a racist




      and




      He is not a racist/I'm not a racist











      share|improve this question
















      Why in most cases do not put the article "a", when you enter the sentence in the search?
      In the example on this site, the article is adding (OALD (American English))



      Just enter in the search and you will see that everywhere in different ways.




      He is a racist




      and




      He is not a racist/I'm not a racist








      articles zero-article






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited 3 hours ago









      userr2684291

      2,58521531




      2,58521531










      asked 6 hours ago









      BoyepBoyep

      38028




      38028






















          3 Answers
          3






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          12














          Like so many other words in English (antique, chief, expert, orange, phony, suspect, etc.), "racist" works as both a noun and an adjective.




          He is racist. (adjective)



          He is a racist. (noun)




          Both have approximately the same nuance, but are used differently. As an adjective "racist" can describe actions, concepts, and objects as well as people. Examples:




          A racist decision.



          A racist doctrine.



          A racist document.




          The noun "a racist" can only be applied to people, as in "a person who is racist".






          share|improve this answer
























          • Can the word stupid be as a noun? Wikipedia has the meaning (noun informal).

            – Boyep
            3 hours ago






          • 1





            @Boyep that should be asked as a separate question, but I'm surprised it says it's a noun. I can't think of a way to use it as such. Someone else will definitely know more than me though.

            – Aethenosity
            3 hours ago











          • @Boyep in this offensive greeting it is used as a noun: "Hello stupid!"

            – Mr.Mindor
            3 hours ago











          • @Mr.Mindor Is it possible to use the word with the article?

            – Boyep
            3 hours ago











          • @Boyep You'd get much better answers if you ask a separate question.

            – Mr.Mindor
            3 hours ago





















          5














          Both are grammatically correct, and the difference is just about what nuance the author wants the sentence to have. They do have slightly different meanings, however. A racist is a person who is racist, which is the state of holding prejudice against a specific demographic. So the sentence "He is racist" is saying "He is prejudiced", whereas the sentence "He is a racist" is saying "He is the type of person who holds prejudices". Both mean approximately the same thing, just going at it from a different angle.



          Depending on context, they can imply degrees of prejudice, but this is not intrinsic to the usage. In my experience, being called "a racist" is usually slightly more serious, just because "a racist" usually means they are a wholly racist and hateful person, whereas being called simply "racist" can mean the same thing, or a lesser degree, such as subconsciously fearing a minority even without hateful intention.






          share|improve this answer































            0














            You mention entering the phrase into a search. Do you mean a search engine?



            If that is the case, then the reason that people often omit articles from internet searches is that they're largely ignored by the search engine itself.



            If you type...




            He is a racist




            ...into a search engine, the search engine is going to ignore the 'a' because it appears possibly literally on every website on the internet. In other words searching for...




            He is a racist




            vs....




            He is racist




            ...will very likely pull up the same search results.



            If you add quotation marks, then the engine will search for that exact phrase:




            "He is a racist"




            ...will return all websites where that exact sentence, including the 'a', appears, whereas...




            "He is racist"




            ...will return all websites where that sentence appears.






            share|improve this answer








            New contributor




            John Doe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.





















            • Welcome to ELL.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. On its own, this answer does not directly answer the question; it seems more like a comment on OP's reasoning.

              – V2Blast
              49 mins ago













            Your Answer








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            3 Answers
            3






            active

            oldest

            votes








            3 Answers
            3






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes









            12














            Like so many other words in English (antique, chief, expert, orange, phony, suspect, etc.), "racist" works as both a noun and an adjective.




            He is racist. (adjective)



            He is a racist. (noun)




            Both have approximately the same nuance, but are used differently. As an adjective "racist" can describe actions, concepts, and objects as well as people. Examples:




            A racist decision.



            A racist doctrine.



            A racist document.




            The noun "a racist" can only be applied to people, as in "a person who is racist".






            share|improve this answer
























            • Can the word stupid be as a noun? Wikipedia has the meaning (noun informal).

              – Boyep
              3 hours ago






            • 1





              @Boyep that should be asked as a separate question, but I'm surprised it says it's a noun. I can't think of a way to use it as such. Someone else will definitely know more than me though.

              – Aethenosity
              3 hours ago











            • @Boyep in this offensive greeting it is used as a noun: "Hello stupid!"

              – Mr.Mindor
              3 hours ago











            • @Mr.Mindor Is it possible to use the word with the article?

              – Boyep
              3 hours ago











            • @Boyep You'd get much better answers if you ask a separate question.

              – Mr.Mindor
              3 hours ago


















            12














            Like so many other words in English (antique, chief, expert, orange, phony, suspect, etc.), "racist" works as both a noun and an adjective.




            He is racist. (adjective)



            He is a racist. (noun)




            Both have approximately the same nuance, but are used differently. As an adjective "racist" can describe actions, concepts, and objects as well as people. Examples:




            A racist decision.



            A racist doctrine.



            A racist document.




            The noun "a racist" can only be applied to people, as in "a person who is racist".






            share|improve this answer
























            • Can the word stupid be as a noun? Wikipedia has the meaning (noun informal).

              – Boyep
              3 hours ago






            • 1





              @Boyep that should be asked as a separate question, but I'm surprised it says it's a noun. I can't think of a way to use it as such. Someone else will definitely know more than me though.

              – Aethenosity
              3 hours ago











            • @Boyep in this offensive greeting it is used as a noun: "Hello stupid!"

              – Mr.Mindor
              3 hours ago











            • @Mr.Mindor Is it possible to use the word with the article?

              – Boyep
              3 hours ago











            • @Boyep You'd get much better answers if you ask a separate question.

              – Mr.Mindor
              3 hours ago
















            12












            12








            12







            Like so many other words in English (antique, chief, expert, orange, phony, suspect, etc.), "racist" works as both a noun and an adjective.




            He is racist. (adjective)



            He is a racist. (noun)




            Both have approximately the same nuance, but are used differently. As an adjective "racist" can describe actions, concepts, and objects as well as people. Examples:




            A racist decision.



            A racist doctrine.



            A racist document.




            The noun "a racist" can only be applied to people, as in "a person who is racist".






            share|improve this answer













            Like so many other words in English (antique, chief, expert, orange, phony, suspect, etc.), "racist" works as both a noun and an adjective.




            He is racist. (adjective)



            He is a racist. (noun)




            Both have approximately the same nuance, but are used differently. As an adjective "racist" can describe actions, concepts, and objects as well as people. Examples:




            A racist decision.



            A racist doctrine.



            A racist document.




            The noun "a racist" can only be applied to people, as in "a person who is racist".







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered 5 hours ago









            AndrewAndrew

            67.9k676150




            67.9k676150













            • Can the word stupid be as a noun? Wikipedia has the meaning (noun informal).

              – Boyep
              3 hours ago






            • 1





              @Boyep that should be asked as a separate question, but I'm surprised it says it's a noun. I can't think of a way to use it as such. Someone else will definitely know more than me though.

              – Aethenosity
              3 hours ago











            • @Boyep in this offensive greeting it is used as a noun: "Hello stupid!"

              – Mr.Mindor
              3 hours ago











            • @Mr.Mindor Is it possible to use the word with the article?

              – Boyep
              3 hours ago











            • @Boyep You'd get much better answers if you ask a separate question.

              – Mr.Mindor
              3 hours ago





















            • Can the word stupid be as a noun? Wikipedia has the meaning (noun informal).

              – Boyep
              3 hours ago






            • 1





              @Boyep that should be asked as a separate question, but I'm surprised it says it's a noun. I can't think of a way to use it as such. Someone else will definitely know more than me though.

              – Aethenosity
              3 hours ago











            • @Boyep in this offensive greeting it is used as a noun: "Hello stupid!"

              – Mr.Mindor
              3 hours ago











            • @Mr.Mindor Is it possible to use the word with the article?

              – Boyep
              3 hours ago











            • @Boyep You'd get much better answers if you ask a separate question.

              – Mr.Mindor
              3 hours ago



















            Can the word stupid be as a noun? Wikipedia has the meaning (noun informal).

            – Boyep
            3 hours ago





            Can the word stupid be as a noun? Wikipedia has the meaning (noun informal).

            – Boyep
            3 hours ago




            1




            1





            @Boyep that should be asked as a separate question, but I'm surprised it says it's a noun. I can't think of a way to use it as such. Someone else will definitely know more than me though.

            – Aethenosity
            3 hours ago





            @Boyep that should be asked as a separate question, but I'm surprised it says it's a noun. I can't think of a way to use it as such. Someone else will definitely know more than me though.

            – Aethenosity
            3 hours ago













            @Boyep in this offensive greeting it is used as a noun: "Hello stupid!"

            – Mr.Mindor
            3 hours ago





            @Boyep in this offensive greeting it is used as a noun: "Hello stupid!"

            – Mr.Mindor
            3 hours ago













            @Mr.Mindor Is it possible to use the word with the article?

            – Boyep
            3 hours ago





            @Mr.Mindor Is it possible to use the word with the article?

            – Boyep
            3 hours ago













            @Boyep You'd get much better answers if you ask a separate question.

            – Mr.Mindor
            3 hours ago







            @Boyep You'd get much better answers if you ask a separate question.

            – Mr.Mindor
            3 hours ago















            5














            Both are grammatically correct, and the difference is just about what nuance the author wants the sentence to have. They do have slightly different meanings, however. A racist is a person who is racist, which is the state of holding prejudice against a specific demographic. So the sentence "He is racist" is saying "He is prejudiced", whereas the sentence "He is a racist" is saying "He is the type of person who holds prejudices". Both mean approximately the same thing, just going at it from a different angle.



            Depending on context, they can imply degrees of prejudice, but this is not intrinsic to the usage. In my experience, being called "a racist" is usually slightly more serious, just because "a racist" usually means they are a wholly racist and hateful person, whereas being called simply "racist" can mean the same thing, or a lesser degree, such as subconsciously fearing a minority even without hateful intention.






            share|improve this answer




























              5














              Both are grammatically correct, and the difference is just about what nuance the author wants the sentence to have. They do have slightly different meanings, however. A racist is a person who is racist, which is the state of holding prejudice against a specific demographic. So the sentence "He is racist" is saying "He is prejudiced", whereas the sentence "He is a racist" is saying "He is the type of person who holds prejudices". Both mean approximately the same thing, just going at it from a different angle.



              Depending on context, they can imply degrees of prejudice, but this is not intrinsic to the usage. In my experience, being called "a racist" is usually slightly more serious, just because "a racist" usually means they are a wholly racist and hateful person, whereas being called simply "racist" can mean the same thing, or a lesser degree, such as subconsciously fearing a minority even without hateful intention.






              share|improve this answer


























                5












                5








                5







                Both are grammatically correct, and the difference is just about what nuance the author wants the sentence to have. They do have slightly different meanings, however. A racist is a person who is racist, which is the state of holding prejudice against a specific demographic. So the sentence "He is racist" is saying "He is prejudiced", whereas the sentence "He is a racist" is saying "He is the type of person who holds prejudices". Both mean approximately the same thing, just going at it from a different angle.



                Depending on context, they can imply degrees of prejudice, but this is not intrinsic to the usage. In my experience, being called "a racist" is usually slightly more serious, just because "a racist" usually means they are a wholly racist and hateful person, whereas being called simply "racist" can mean the same thing, or a lesser degree, such as subconsciously fearing a minority even without hateful intention.






                share|improve this answer













                Both are grammatically correct, and the difference is just about what nuance the author wants the sentence to have. They do have slightly different meanings, however. A racist is a person who is racist, which is the state of holding prejudice against a specific demographic. So the sentence "He is racist" is saying "He is prejudiced", whereas the sentence "He is a racist" is saying "He is the type of person who holds prejudices". Both mean approximately the same thing, just going at it from a different angle.



                Depending on context, they can imply degrees of prejudice, but this is not intrinsic to the usage. In my experience, being called "a racist" is usually slightly more serious, just because "a racist" usually means they are a wholly racist and hateful person, whereas being called simply "racist" can mean the same thing, or a lesser degree, such as subconsciously fearing a minority even without hateful intention.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered 5 hours ago









                Nathan YoungNathan Young

                1,161310




                1,161310























                    0














                    You mention entering the phrase into a search. Do you mean a search engine?



                    If that is the case, then the reason that people often omit articles from internet searches is that they're largely ignored by the search engine itself.



                    If you type...




                    He is a racist




                    ...into a search engine, the search engine is going to ignore the 'a' because it appears possibly literally on every website on the internet. In other words searching for...




                    He is a racist




                    vs....




                    He is racist




                    ...will very likely pull up the same search results.



                    If you add quotation marks, then the engine will search for that exact phrase:




                    "He is a racist"




                    ...will return all websites where that exact sentence, including the 'a', appears, whereas...




                    "He is racist"




                    ...will return all websites where that sentence appears.






                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor




                    John Doe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.





















                    • Welcome to ELL.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. On its own, this answer does not directly answer the question; it seems more like a comment on OP's reasoning.

                      – V2Blast
                      49 mins ago


















                    0














                    You mention entering the phrase into a search. Do you mean a search engine?



                    If that is the case, then the reason that people often omit articles from internet searches is that they're largely ignored by the search engine itself.



                    If you type...




                    He is a racist




                    ...into a search engine, the search engine is going to ignore the 'a' because it appears possibly literally on every website on the internet. In other words searching for...




                    He is a racist




                    vs....




                    He is racist




                    ...will very likely pull up the same search results.



                    If you add quotation marks, then the engine will search for that exact phrase:




                    "He is a racist"




                    ...will return all websites where that exact sentence, including the 'a', appears, whereas...




                    "He is racist"




                    ...will return all websites where that sentence appears.






                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor




                    John Doe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.





















                    • Welcome to ELL.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. On its own, this answer does not directly answer the question; it seems more like a comment on OP's reasoning.

                      – V2Blast
                      49 mins ago
















                    0












                    0








                    0







                    You mention entering the phrase into a search. Do you mean a search engine?



                    If that is the case, then the reason that people often omit articles from internet searches is that they're largely ignored by the search engine itself.



                    If you type...




                    He is a racist




                    ...into a search engine, the search engine is going to ignore the 'a' because it appears possibly literally on every website on the internet. In other words searching for...




                    He is a racist




                    vs....




                    He is racist




                    ...will very likely pull up the same search results.



                    If you add quotation marks, then the engine will search for that exact phrase:




                    "He is a racist"




                    ...will return all websites where that exact sentence, including the 'a', appears, whereas...




                    "He is racist"




                    ...will return all websites where that sentence appears.






                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor




                    John Doe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.










                    You mention entering the phrase into a search. Do you mean a search engine?



                    If that is the case, then the reason that people often omit articles from internet searches is that they're largely ignored by the search engine itself.



                    If you type...




                    He is a racist




                    ...into a search engine, the search engine is going to ignore the 'a' because it appears possibly literally on every website on the internet. In other words searching for...




                    He is a racist




                    vs....




                    He is racist




                    ...will very likely pull up the same search results.



                    If you add quotation marks, then the engine will search for that exact phrase:




                    "He is a racist"




                    ...will return all websites where that exact sentence, including the 'a', appears, whereas...




                    "He is racist"




                    ...will return all websites where that sentence appears.







                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor




                    John Doe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.









                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer






                    New contributor




                    John Doe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.









                    answered 2 hours ago









                    John DoeJohn Doe

                    101




                    101




                    New contributor




                    John Doe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.





                    New contributor





                    John Doe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.






                    John Doe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.













                    • Welcome to ELL.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. On its own, this answer does not directly answer the question; it seems more like a comment on OP's reasoning.

                      – V2Blast
                      49 mins ago





















                    • Welcome to ELL.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. On its own, this answer does not directly answer the question; it seems more like a comment on OP's reasoning.

                      – V2Blast
                      49 mins ago



















                    Welcome to ELL.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. On its own, this answer does not directly answer the question; it seems more like a comment on OP's reasoning.

                    – V2Blast
                    49 mins ago







                    Welcome to ELL.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. On its own, this answer does not directly answer the question; it seems more like a comment on OP's reasoning.

                    – V2Blast
                    49 mins ago




















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