Which of the sentences is grammatically correct?

Question

Which of the sentences is grammatically correct?

1. The using of the opportunities offered by ... became an important element.
2. A significant element became the using of the opportunities offered by ...

Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer 1

Both are grammatical, but neither is very satisfactory.

• In the first place, the ponderous construction the VERBing of is almost always a bad choice. If you want the -ing form in situations like this, employ it as a frank verb: write using X. If for some reason you want to bleach out any hint of ‘verbiness’, employ the ordinary noun form, use of.

  (Usage is something else again: it designates habitual or customary use, and today usually refers to use of some linguistic form.)

  Other things being equal, I recommend the verbal use; too many nouns makes your diction sound pompous and self-important.

• In the second place, you should not speak of using an opportunity. Use is employed with a tool or means by which you do something.

  • Using the resources offered by ...
  • Using the software provided by ...
  • Use of equipment obtained from ...

  But an opportunity is not a tool or means for doing something; it is an occasion for doing something. Opportunity signifies a time or a situation or a state of affairs particularly suited to doing whatever it is you want to do. You would do better to use take advantage of or seize or exploit:

  • Taking advantage of the opportunity offered by ...
  • Seizing the opportunity afforded by ...
  • Exploiting the opportunity arising from ...

Answer 2

You should use use or usage instead of using, because using is a verb form, not a noun.

The use/usage of the opportunities offered by ... became an important element.

A significant element became the use/usage of the opportunities offered by ...

Otherwise I think the meanings are similar (without further context).

Answer 3

What follows complements @StoneyB 's little nugget of writer's wisdom by answering which choice of sentence is more natural.

Although both sentences are grammatical, English favours the order subject-verb-object:

Taking advantage of the opportunity offered by ... became an important factor

However, the order object-verb-subject can also be found specially in certain literary styles such as poetry:

An important factor became taking advantage of the opportunity offered by ...