You are watching: Many a time or many a times
From the context, I understand also many kind of a time amounts to many kind of times. My question is when we can usage this framework. Can we, for instance, say many kind of a person in location of many kind of people?
A connect explaining this framework will be appreciated.
According to the 2002 CGEL, the usage of the expression "many a time" is fine and also conventional English.
But if you use a different count singular noun than "time" in that expression, such as in "many kind of a person", then you could risk having actually that expression seen as being somewhat formal or archaic.
In the 2002 CGEL, web page 394:
Many in combination through a
Many combines through a to form 2 kinds of complex determinative:
<66>
i. <Many kind of a man> has been moved to tears by this sight.
ii. <A excsteustatiushistory.orgent many complaints> had actually been got.
Many a is syntactically inert: nothing deserve to intervene between many and also a, and many cannot even be reinserted in this position by its antonym few. Like a, many type of a constantly functions as determiner. It is found in proverbs such as There"s many a slip twixt cup and also lip, and also in the frequency adjunct many kind of a time, however is in other places somewhat formal or archaic. The many component indicates a huge number, however the a has actually an individuating and distributive impact requiring a count singular head.
Great in a good many can be reput by good, yet one or various other of these adjectives is required; for the rest, these expressions are syntactically similar to a few. They feature as determiner or foffered determiner-head (straightforward or partitive).
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NOTE: The 2002 CGEL is the 2002 referral grammar by Huddleston and Pullum (et al.), The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.