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"we have provided him the means of his spiritual liberation."
Posted: 12 May 2022, 12:50
by Scott
Is the following sentence grammatically incorrect:
We have provided him the means of his spiritual liberation.
Why or why not?
Re: "we have provided him the means of his spiritual liberation."
Posted: 12 May 2022, 21:26
by Donica Deysel
Yes its incorrect.
We have provided him the means to his spiritual liberation instead of the means of his spiritual liberation i think wil be correct
Re: "we have provided him the means of his spiritual liberation."
Posted: 13 May 2022, 11:24
by Juliet+1
I vote for "correct." "The means of" takes a noun or noun phrase, and "his spiritual liberation" is a noun phrase, so it's okay. I would remove the word "his" because that would be understood, but the sentence is not incorrect as is.
Re: "we have provided him the means of his spiritual liberation."
Posted: 14 May 2022, 16:18
by Janet Kimetto
Yes. I vote for "incorrect." I'd write it as "We have provided him with the means [to] his spiritual liberation."
A means [to] an end.
I tried digging further and I came across the explanation:
"means of = a type of" (or a part of)
So you'd say; Some people prefer running as a means of exercise, Air is the fastest means of transport, means of communication, means of entertainment, etc.
"means to = a method to achieve"