Don't tell him about the birthday party—it's a surprise!
surprise 是个抽象名词,怎么能跟不定冠词连用呢?
当像 surprise, success, pleasure 这样的抽象名词用作本义时, 是不能与不定冠词连用的 (参见 pleasure , success, surprise, science)。例如:
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She looked at me in surprise when I told her the news. 我把消息告诉她的时候,她很吃惊地看着我。
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I haven't had much success in my applications for jobs. 我那些求职信都没怎么达到目的。
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He listened with pleasure to the beautiful music. 他怡然自得地听那美妙的音乐。
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He took great pleasure in( = greatly enjoyed) telling me that my team had lost. 他十分得意地告诉我说,我的队比赛输了。
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He won honour on the field of battle. 他在战场上赢得了荣誉。
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He spent the entire afternoon in study. 他整个下午都在学习。
但是,当这些抽象名词用来指一个具体的实例(如一次,一阵,一番,一种)时,就可以与不定冠词连用了,带有修饰语时,尤其如此:
抽象用法 具体用法
success(成功) a success(一个成功的事) successes(多个成功的事)
study(研究) a study(研究论文,研究报告,一项具体的研究)
pleasure(快乐,愉快) a pleasure(一件高兴的事)
kindness(仁慈,友好) a kindness(一件好事,帮一次忙)
honour(荣誉,光荣) an honour(一个光荣的人或一件光荣的事)
music(音乐) a music(一支乐曲)
在这种用法下,这些名词之中有些也可以有复数形式,表示“多个、多次、多种”的意思。
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His new book was a great success. 他的新书获得巨大成功。
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It's been a pleasure meeting you. 认识你是十分高兴的事。
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It was a great honour to be invited to Buckingham Palace. 受到邀请到白金汉宫是很大的光荣。
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She's made a study of the language of Shakespeare's plays. 她对莎士比亚戏剧的语言作了研究。
[附注]我们绝不要由此得出“不可数抽象名词可与不定冠词连用”的错误结论。须知，抽象名词的后一用法与前一用法不仅意义不同，而且语法特点也不同：它们已转化为可数名词。因此，它们与不定冠词连用以及出现复数形式，便是“合理合法”的了。