Security cameras deters or deter?

[gabi]

Common Errors in English, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #14 "Gerunds and Prepositions", question 3

They say but then no one really knows that the presence of security cameras in the street deters people to behaving in a criminal way.

(a) then
(b) presence
(c) deters
(d) to

Common Errors in English, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #14 "Gerunds and Prepositions", answer 3

They say but then no one really knows that the presence of security cameras in the street deters people from behaving in a criminal way.

Correct entry: from
The error was: (d) to
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Security cameras deters or deter?
Please pay some attention to the small but huge mistakes often encounterned in your "advanced" exercises; and sometimes you are tricky in checking the responses.

gabi

[Yankee]

Hi Gabi

I located the test sentence that you specifically referred to:

3. "They say but then no one really knows that the presence of security cameras in the street deters people to behaving in a criminal way."

For this test question you needed to decide which of the underlined words was the error and then correct the error.

In this particular sentence the error is to. The correction should be from. ("deter someone from doing something")

I take it from your comment that you think the use of "deters" is also an error. The reason that "deters" is grammatically correct is that it refers to the singular noun "presence". (It does not refer to "cameras".)
"...the presence ... deters..."

So, deters is neither a huge mistake nor even a tiny one. It's just correct grammar.

If you feel that other things are tricky (or incorrect), how about posting additional, specific questions? What do you find "tricky" about the way the responses are checked?

There are a few typos that show up in the tests now and then. But, as far as I know, they are corrected when found.

Amy
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English