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I'm not sure why in some situations articles are not going before a noun. E.g. I found this sentence:

The best time to go out for dinner.

Why is not here a dinner? This link says that we don't put articles in front of noun if is already some determiner before, like this and that. But for is not a determiner, so I'm wondering why it's not correct to say a dinner?

Neeku
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chao
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  • It's possibly that 'for dinner' is such a set expression in usages like 'We had salmon for dinner' that the range of application seamlessly extends to 'We went out for dinner'. Although 'We are going out for a meal / a drink / a bite to eat / a sandwich a curry' need the article, 'We went out for a dinner' would just not be used. 'We had a dinner of bangers and mash' again needs the article! 'With we had a curry for tea', the article is totally optional. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 17 '14 at 11:28
  • Edwin - note that you do, indeed, say "We went out for a nice dinner at Bibendum" or indeed "We had a dinner at Bibendum for our wedding". – Fattie Aug 17 '14 at 13:44
  • See also: [ell.se] – Kris Aug 17 '14 at 14:23
  • Dinner is normally used as an uncountable noun, and therefore doesn't take an article. On some occasions, such as when want to refer to one single instance of having dinner, it can be treated as countable and given an article. – Roaring Fish Aug 17 '14 at 14:50
  • @Joe Yes; I indicated the use of 'a' when 'dinner' has a modifier. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 17 '14 at 15:20
  • Quite right Edwin – Fattie Aug 17 '14 at 15:20

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