Question

adabana

19 January

Japanese

English (US)
English (UK)
Simplified Chinese (China)

Question about English (US)

Why the article "an" is needed in the following sentence?

"The crops are an acceptable means for providing food to an ever increasing world population. "

See a translation

Answers

Saiazu

19 January

Featured answer

English (US)

It's probably best to just remember that an article is commonly used for "means".
"A means" "The means"
There might be cases where it sounds okay to include an article or to leave out an article, but you will never be wrong by including an article before the word.
The exception is examples like:

I don't like his means of beating the competition.

But when a "to be" verb (are, is, was, etc.) is being used, you should include an article unless the sentence is negative.

Ex.) There is no means of escape.

Share this question

Copy URL

Saiazu

19 January

English (US)

The first one is correct.
"means" needs "an" in front of it.
Ex.) I have a means to win the race.
But since the adjective "acceptable" is in front of "means", you need to used "an" instead of "a" because "acceptable" starts with a vowel.

See a translation

1 like

adabana

19 January

Japanese

@Saiazu thank you for your answer!
Can I ask one more question?
The word “crops” is plural, so I don’t understand why “an acceptable means” is the singular.

See a translation

Saiazu

19 January

English (US)

It's probably best to just remember that an article is commonly used for "means".
"A means" "The means"
There might be cases where it sounds okay to include an article or to leave out an article, but you will never be wrong by including an article before the word.
The exception is examples like:

I don't like his means of beating the competition.

But when a "to be" verb (are, is, was, etc.) is being used, you should include an article unless the sentence is negative.

Ex.) There is no means of escape.

1 like

Saiazu

19 January

English (US)

@adabana the article is used to describe "means", not "crops".

Also, "means" can be singular or plural.

I have a means to win the race.
I have various means to win the race.

You don't use "an" in the second example because it is plural.

In the sentence, the word "crops" is plural, but it is a single means.

For example,
I have means of making you speak.

This is okay if you have more that one means.

See a translation

1 like

Saiazu

19 January

English (US)

@adabana

If there sentence were:
"Crops and importing are acceptable means for providing food to an ever increasing world population."

You don't need "an" in this case because "means" is plural in this sentence. (There are two means: crops and importing)

But in the original sentence "crops" is only one means, so "means" is singular.

See a translation

1 like

adabana

19 January

Japanese

@Saiazu
Thank you so much for your detailed explanations!
I finally got it:)
I'll remember that an article is commonly used for "means".
Very helpful. Thank you!!

See a translation

[News] Hey you! The one learning a language!

Do you know how to improve your language skills❓ All you have to do is have your writing corrected by a native speaker!
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free ✍️✨.

Share this question

Copy URL

Why the article "an" is needed in the following sentence?

"The crops are an acceptable means for providing food to an ever increasing world population. "

Why the article "an" is needed in the following sentence?"The crops are an acceptable means for providing food to an ever increasing world population. " See a translation

The first one is correct."means" needs "an" in front of it.Ex.) I have a means to win the race.But since the adjective "acceptable" is in front of "means", you need to used "an" instead of "a" because "acceptable" starts with a vowel.

Why the article "an" is needed in the following sentence?

"The crops are an acceptable means for providing food to an ever increasing world population. "

See a translation

The first one is correct.
"means" needs "an" in front of it.
Ex.) I have a means to win the race.
But since the adjective "acceptable" is in front of "means", you need to used "an" instead of "a" because "acceptable" starts with a vowel.