Could you please tell me if there is an error in this sentence?
Unless you are careful, you are bound to make mistake in your work.
The book offers:
(a) Unless you are careful,
(b) you are bound to make mistake
(c) in your work.
(d) No error.
-
1First, can you tell us what you think about it?– user230Commented Oct 22, 2013 at 9:45
-
since i am begieer in eng lang i suppose bound should be replced with abound– gandhigcppCommented Oct 22, 2013 at 9:46
-
Did the test guide where you found this give the answer? BTW, replacing bound with abound is NOT the right answer, but it's always good to present a theory when you ask a question like this. That accomplishes two things: (1) it lets us know you've put some thought into it, and (2) it helps the rest of the community more accurately diagnose where you might be confused.– J.R. ♦Commented Oct 22, 2013 at 9:56
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
The problem is in part (b). The sentence could be rewritten in one of two ways:
Unless you are careful, you are bound to make a mistake in your work.
or:
Unless you are careful, you are bound to make mistakes in your work.
But, in English, we don't say make mistake. We can make mistakes, or make a mistake, if we are making only one.
-
2(opinion) The second option seems more natural to me, perhaps because a seems slightly too specific when talking about mistakes in general.– user230Commented Oct 22, 2013 at 10:49
-
@snail - I'd concur with that opinion for the general case. There might be a few specific exceptions, though, such as a math teacher giving advice about how to do a proof.– J.R. ♦Commented Oct 22, 2013 at 16:38