"I am Li Bin and my question is the usage of relief. E.g. "It was a relief to be able to talk to someone about it". The problem is 'relief' is an uncountable noun, so why there is an 'a' before it?"
Li Bin
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The word 'relief' is uncountable, but it is also possible to use it as a countable noun. You may hear the expression "Oh what a relief!"
In this case, it is only used in the singular form: there is no plural version of it.
Here 'relief' refers to a feeling of comfort when something frightening or worrying is about to happen but then doesn't. Perhaps you thought you had a serious illness but then found out you didn't - what a relief!
The same thing happens with the normally uncountable nouns 'pity' and 'shame'.
What a pity!
What a shame!
Listen and find out more about the word 'relief'.
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