Learn English – “Both a” vs “a both”

grammar

I'm unsure about the grammatically correct use of the word "both" in the following sentence.

The text currently reads:

This is a both natural and powerful thing

Which sounds weird to me. I think that:

This is both a natural and powerful thing

sounds better, but I'm not a 100% sure and as such hesitant to change the sentence.

Which is the correct version? Or are both sentences grammatically valid? If so, are there any subtle differences in their semantics (like in e.g., "fine with me" vs. "fine for me")?

Best Answer

You can avoid the problem by saying what is really behind your constructions:

This is a thing both natural and powerful.

But you might find this a phraseology too rhetorical and antiquated. It scans nicely, though.

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