The phrase "are a substantial step" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing progress or advancements in a particular context, indicating that something represents a significant move forward.
Example: "The new policies implemented by the organization are a substantial step towards achieving sustainability goals."
Alternatives: "represent a significant advancement" or "constitute a major progress."
"These settlements are a substantial step toward resolving all outstanding regulatory matters and allow the firm to move forward," said Jonathan Gasthalter, a spokesman for SAC.
After the S.E.C. settlement, a spokesman for SAC stated, "These settlements are a substantial step toward resolving all outstanding regulatory matters and allow the firm to move forward".
Their demands for Alevi houses of worship to be officially designated as such were again ignored, just as Mr Erdogan's pro-Sunni foreign policy has sharpened feelings of discrimination.For all such grumbles, however, the reforms are a substantial step in the right direction.
RankScience claims an average boost to organic search traffic of 37percentnt within three months, arguing such gains are a substantial step up from the competition — albeit it only has "a couple of dozen" customers at this point.
"This is a substantial step forward," Mr. Glantz said at a news conference that followed disclosure of the report.
The technique was a substantial step toward the goal of being able to image the position and type of every atom in a nanocrystal.
The $15 billion hedge fund said in a statement that the settlements were "a substantial step toward resolving all outstanding regulatory matters".
The software, called Natural Voices, is not flawless -- its utterances still contain a few robotic tones and unnatural inflections -- and competitors question whether the software is a substantial step up from existing products.
Budget-wise, it will be a substantial step up for Wheatley, but his decision to follow Sightseers immediately with A Field In England's lo-fi psychedelia snorts in the face of cynical career trajectories.
