It becomes a matter of urgency to establish the accountability of the public officials.
It becomes an urgency to establish the accountability of the public officials.
Which one is better? I think “a matter of urgency” is both redundant and unclear.
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If it is unclear to you, you should avoid it. However, the context apparently refers to a matter of urgency, not urgency.– KrisCommented Jan 11, 2014 at 6:49
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You might like to visit English Language Learners and go through some of the interesting questions there.– KrisCommented Jan 11, 2014 at 6:50
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In your second example, substitute “is urgent” for “becomes an urgency”– James Waldby - jwpat7Commented Jan 11, 2014 at 16:41
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1 Answer
Urgency is an abstract noun. This means that it expresses an abstract concept, similar to wisdom, information, or happiness. One cannot have an urgency in the same way that one cannot have a happiness, or two happinesses, or three.
'A matter of urgency' is thus more logical than 'an urgency', but, at least to my ears, 'an urgent matter' is better than either.
