When is it appropriate to use a with vacation?
For instance, I found these examples in the dictionaries:
You look tired — you should take a vacation.
When are you taking vacation this year?
What's the difference between the two sentences? Why one of them uses a vacation and the other simply vacation?
And then, when do you say go on vacation and go on a vacation?
(Examples from the COCA)
A: Where do you go on vacation?
B: The beach. I love to travel, but I don't get to much.
and
A: Kids, we're about to go on a vacation!
B: Hooray! We're going to Disney World!
I'm so confused!
Best Answer
To take...
For me, this one always uses "a".
However, if you change it to a noun (gerund) it can lose the "a":
I speak American English, so, it may be that "to take vacation" doesn't sound wrong to British English speakers.
To go on...
Both with and without "a" sound fine, but possibly with a small difference.
To me, "to go on a vacation" seems more exciting than without a. I would use the second version, if I do not intend to tell people where I went, but rather, just want to tell them I was gone (although they might still ask anyway).
The perspective is a little different.
But you could also say,
To be on...
Same as To go on..., the article just changes the emphasis a bit.