"there is a nothing" vs "there is nothing"?

Question

Hello, i'm not english native speaking, and i would like to know if there are any subtle differences (in meaning) between these 2 sentences "there is a nothing" & "there is nothing".

Or is it just that the old "good" form was "there is a nothing" and the "a" was lost during time ?

Thx in advance for the answers :)

Answer 1

"there is nothing" is the correct way to say it. "There is a nothing" doesn't make any sense! drop the "a"....

Answer 2

The phrase 'There is a nothing' is referring to an actual object, which is what the main difference is. If you were to say 'there is a book' you wouldn't say 'there is book', would you? 'There is nothing' is exactly what it means - there is nothing there. So, you would say 'there is nothing' rather than 'there is a nothing' - unless you were talking about an interesting kind of bird species...

Answer 3

there is a nothing makes no sense.

Answer 4

"There is nothing" is correct.

"There is a nothigness" is also correct.