Please explain the reason why the article 'a' is attached to 'waste' in waste. When you look up waste in the dictionary, it is written as 'a waste.' Previously, the explanation was that 'a waste of time' had 'a' attached throughout the whole explanation. Does this mean that 'waste of time' is countable? Also, in the dictionary under the noun section, there is 'What a waste!' and 'waste in government departments' without an article. I do not understand the reason for when the indefinite article 'a' is attached and when it is not. The dictionary indicates 'U,' so it should be an uncountable noun. Could someone please explain this in detail?