Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable word in the sentence below: Many experts believe that innovation is ________ key to staying competitive in the global market.

• A. a
• B. an
• C. the
• D. no article

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

The sentence is:

"Many experts believe that innovation is ________ key to staying competitive in the global market."

Here, the phrase "the key to" is a common English expression that means the most important factor or the essential element for achieving something.

Let us examine each option:

Option (1): a
"A key" means one of several possible important factors. It does not fit the intended idiomatic expression here.

Option (2): an
The article "an" is used before words beginning with a vowel sound. Since "key" begins with a consonant sound (/k/), this option is incorrect.

Option (3): the
The phrase "the key to" is the correct and commonly used expression, indicating the primary or most important factor.
Hence, this is the correct choice.

Option (4): No article
Omitting the article results in an ungrammatical sentence.

Therefore, the sentence correctly reads: \[ \boxed{\text{Many experts believe that innovation is the key to staying competitive in the global market.}} \] Hence, the correct answer is Option (3) – the.