Correct articles here?

Question

Sentence: Fiscal deficit is not the/a problem in fact, but the steps taken to bring it down is. Massive tax hike is not the/a right way of doing it.Question: Please tell the right articles, for the above sentence, where I have used slashes. I am confused, so if you answer this with an explanation, it will help me in better understanding of the rule.Thanks

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Any reason for not attempting my question?

Ivanhr · Answer

Your sentences have other problems too. Both deficit and hike are normally countable so they too would require an article. "steps" is in the plural and thus requires "are" instead of "is". Also, the position of "in fact" is incorrect.

I might say

In fact, the fiscal deficit is not the/a problem, but the steps taken to bring it down are. Massive tax hikes are not the right way of doing it.

Let's say that you're talking about a country. The country's economy is weak and you attribute this solely to its (large) fiscal deficit. In this case you would use "the". If, on the other hand, you think that the fiscal deficit is just one of the factors affecting the country's economy, then you may as well use "a".

With "right way" you usually think in terms of the right way vs the wrong way, so there are only two options
to consider (it's either the right way or the wrong way). Of course, you might say that there could many right ways so that "a right way" is also ok. And it is fine grammatically but is simply not idiomatic except in some limited cases where there are multiple options given to choose from (with more than just one right answer).

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