question

[plin]

Hello, Pete--It's good to see you posting answers again. Please consider the following:

Fishing is a sport (that) many people like.

Hunting is another sport, perhaps riskier than fishing.

Running is a good exercise.

Mistaking is a human trait.


Why the beginning word in each of the first three sentences looks fine but not so in the fourth one? Thanks beforehand.


Plin.

[Pete]

Hello, Pete--It's good to see you posting answers again. Please consider the following:

Fishing is a sport (that) many people like.

Hunting is another sport, perhaps riskier than fishing.

Running is a good exercise.

Mistaking is a human trait.


Why the beginning word in each of the first three sentences looks fine but not so in the fourth one? Thanks beforehand.


Plin.
Note that the first 3 gerunds, "fishing", "hunting", and "running" are derived from verbs that are commonly used intransitively, i.e. without objects. On the other hand, the verb "to mistake" is almost always used with an object: "I mistook Pat for someone else." Although the dictionary at
> http://m-w.com
shows an old intransitive use of "to mistake", I think that is very uncommon. It is much more common to say something like, "I was mistaken" or "I made a mistake," when you don't have a specific object. I think your 4th sentence sounds unnatural because the gerund "mistaking" doesn't have an object. The natural way to express that idea is:
- Making mistakes is a human trait.

[Fine Tree]

Hi, Pete!
Are these sentences OK?
1. The mistaking is because of their resemblance in spell. ['They' are words.]
2. The mistaking is because of their resemblance in apparence/look/looks. ['They' are people.]
Thanks in advance.

[Pete]

>Are these sentences OK?
1. The mistaking is because of their resemblance in <strike>spell</strike> spelling. ['They' are words.]

-- This isn't wrong, but it would take a lot of context, including a situation where someone regularly mistakes one word for another, before it makes sense. Even then, I think it seems awkward.

2. The mistaking is because of their resemblance in <strike>apparence</strike> appearance/<strike>look</strike>/looks. ['They' are people.]
-- This is a similar situation, except you need a context where you have been discussing someone regularly mistaking one person for another.