I was confused about this question: Eating garlic has long been regarded as a means of warding off malaise, and scientific research has shown that it does have some therapeutic values.
why means should be used here, instead of mean?
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1because means is a different word than the plural of mean.– OldcatCommented Oct 30, 2014 at 0:04
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1 Answer
Means here refers to a method of doing something.
answered Oct 30, 2014 at 0:48
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No mean feat it was to so counter your own mien as to meanly suggest that that means means something other than what that mean means! Take care lest someone should mean themself to the Powers That Be upon your mean ways.– tchrist ♦Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 5:52
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The explanation provided in the reply still leaves one issue unanswered. Why is "means" probably the only noun ending with "s" that allows an indefinite article "a" before it? Commented Apr 7, 2018 at 13:22
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It’s not. There are many such nouns. Firstly, there are many that just happen to end in an s (bus, kiss, abyss, lass, truss, etc.); secondly, there are quite a few nouns that are morphologically plural, but which are nonetheless treated as singulars (means, news, data [sometimes], etc.; as well as diseases like measles, chicken pox, etc.; activities like billiards, sports, etc.; and branches of science like math[ematic]s, linguistics, etc.). Why such words are treated as singular is an entirely different kettle of fish, which we don’t need to fry here. Commented Apr 7, 2018 at 13:34
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@JanusBahsJacquet Not one of your examples in the second list can take an a determiner when used as a noun. I have heard things like a checkers and a dice, though. Commented Apr 7, 2018 at 14:15
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@PhilSweet True, means is the only one of those that can act as a count noun. There’s also a shambles and I’m sure at least a fair few others. Commented Apr 7, 2018 at 14:18