"A better vocabulary"?

I was typing and typing and typing... and then I got to a clause that resembled this (example): "Bob has better vocabulary than me." Should it be "Bob has a better vocabulary than me."?

I mean, vocabulary consists of all the words that you use, right? So I tried to replace it hypothetically with the word "language". "Bob has better language than me." vs. "Bob has a better language than me." After a while, my head start to hurt. Sort of like when you look at a word for too long, it starts to look more and more ambiguous.

Any thoughts?

 

I would say the first example: Bob has better vocabulary than me. Since the word vocabulary means a collection of words and not just one, so no need for the word 'a'. This is my humble opinion.

 

I would say "a better vocabulary" because vocabulary is singular - a list of known words. One wouldn't say "Bob has better list of known words than I." (btw, language isn't suitable since it's not a simile, and isn't used in the same manner)

 

"A better vocabulary" is the one that sounds most natural and the one I would choose.

 

A better vocabulary.

Would anyone one say 'He has better collection than me'?
But still, ther is something uncomfortable with 'a better vocabulary'.
Maybe someone like Cogito can help.

 

Maybe - Bob's vocabulary is better than mine.

 

x2.

I won't even try. I'd turn it into a paragraph. Sorry I can't be of more help - lol!

 

"A better vocabulary." Shadowwalker's reasoning is correct.

 

yes, 'a' is the grammatically correct way to do it...