There was a traffic. vs It was traffic

The phrases aren't directly comparable as they're different in structure and meaning. 'There was a traffic' isn't a correct construction in English, while 'It was traffic' is a valid phrase used to describe a situation where traffic is present.

Explained by Miss E.
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: September 18, 2024 • 18607 views

There was a traffic.

This phrase is not correct in English. 'Traffic' is a mass noun and does not require an article before it.

The correct way to express this idea is 'There was traffic.' without the article 'a'.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 07, 2024

Jun 26, 2019 ... There was a traffic accident on the way to the Tek cave. . . Images. r ...
Apr 3, 2021 ... Which is correct, “there was a traffic” or “ there were a traffic?” Traffic is an uncountable noun and hence is considered singular ...
Aug 23, 2024 ... Pilot updated repeatedly that there was a traffic jam of planes and outbound traffic was prioritized. We spent more time taxiing than in the ...
Sep 15, 2015 ... However, in the weeks since the upgrade I've found myself wishing there was a traffic graph in these radios to monitor real time throughput ...
Aug 31, 2020 ... Which is correct, “there was a traffic” or “ there were a traffic?” Traffic is an uncountable noun and hence is considered singular ...
Shortly after 2 p.m., there was a traffic accident on the SR (750) in front of the Zoo. Shawnee Hills Police Department responded to handle the incident...
Aug 14, 2007 ... What makes me wonder if there was a traffic circle there is the fact that I have otherwise heard so little about it and because the ...
Jan 18, 2018 ... There was a traffic light in the center of town in Southampton and another in the center of town in East Hampton. That was it. On Sundays, a ...

Alternatives:

There was traffic.
There was heavy traffic.
There was a lot of traffic.
There was a traffic jam.
There was a traffic congestion.

It was traffic

This phrase is correct and can be used to describe a situation where traffic is present.

'It was traffic' is a simple way to convey that there was a significant amount of traffic.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 07, 2024

Sep 17, 2024 ... Yesterday, it was Traffic's birthday,but tday its Broker's. HHaaAPPppYyyy BBiiiIIIIIRRrrRRTDaadadaYYYyyyyYyy-. Discussion. This video cannot ...
Jul 24, 2019 ... The Way It Was – Traffic Jam, 1947. A visit to Canada proved to be less than relaxing for some vacationers. By. George Bulanda. -.
May 29, 2020 ... For me at the time it was Traffic and the Airplane. Still resonates throughout the ages. 'If see something that looks like a star...and the ...
Mar 4, 2024 ... ... it was traffic spam all over again. So I tried a plug-in (ip2location) but it was the same story. Anyone knows actually how to resolve a ...
Aug 26, 2019 ... ... (it was Traffic Control, not Safe Access as stated in the quote there) so a firewall rule worked for my needs whereas at that time banning ...
Jun 10, 2016 ... It was traffic that began off map, finished off map and never visited my city. I'm talking about large caravans of 20-30 trucks at a time hogging up my bypass ...
Oct 9, 2024 ... It was traffic jam after traffic jam. Lane closure after construction-riddled lane closure. I had many choice words that were going to burst ...
Mar 21, 2013 ... Most recently that film was Cannibal Holocaust, but before that it was Traffic. Traffic was a film I had seen before, but was half paying ...
Nov 1, 2009 ... ... it was Traffic for me and it was all tied in to that romantic image of Island Records (see 26 September post on this) as a wellspring of the ...

Alternatives:

There was traffic.
There was heavy traffic.
There was a lot of traffic.
There was a traffic jam.
There was a traffic congestion.

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There was a traffic. vs It was traffic

There was a traffic.

It was traffic

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