caronmi
Junior Member
- Joined
- May 18, 2010
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Chinese
- Home Country
- China
- Current Location
- China
Dear teachers, I am always confused about how the singular and prural forms vary in some certain cases as follows:
....They also point out that alternative punishments, such as extremely long prison terms, are a great expense to society and rarely result in successful rehabilitation, so that the criminal (or should it be "criminals"?) would be a potential danger to the community.
Can we view "punishments", "terms", or "criminals" as a whole, and then use "a/an" behind them?
I will be most grateful if anyone can kindly explain it to me, or correct my sentence. thank you!
....They also point out that alternative punishments, such as extremely long prison terms, are a great expense to society and rarely result in successful rehabilitation, so that the criminal (or should it be "criminals"?) would be a potential danger to the community.
Can we view "punishments", "terms", or "criminals" as a whole, and then use "a/an" behind them?
I will be most grateful if anyone can kindly explain it to me, or correct my sentence. thank you!