Difference between pieces and parts

[isabel kalwar]

Test No. incompl/inter-3 "If you tend to forget", question 3

The car is almost ready to collect from the garage but there are just a couple of spare ......... missing.

(a) parts
(b) pieces
(c) extras
(d) accessories

Test No. incompl/inter-3 "If you tend to forget", answer 3

The car is almost ready to collect from the garage but there are just a couple of spare parts missing.

Correct answer: (a) parts

Your answer was: incorrect
The car is almost ready to collect from the garage but there are just a couple of spare pieces missing.
_________________________

I WAS CONFUSED BETWEEN PIECES AND PARTS.COULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY CANNOT BE PIECES?

[Alan]

Piece is a very general word as in piece of cake/piece of paper/piece of wood and so on. The word part has a more specific meaning in the sense of something needed to complete the whole and that's what is needed here.
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story The Name of the Game

[Svetlanka]

Good day,

I have the following question:

if we substituted the world "spare" for "special" can we use then instead of "parts" the "accessories", i.e. is the following sentence correct or not:

The car is almost ready to collect from the garage but there are just a couple of special accessories missing.

Or accessories is just a things for people?

Thanks in advance,
Svetlana

[Torsten]

Hi Svetlanka,

There are spare parts for car and car accessories.
Spare parts are components that components used to repair or maintain your car. In other words, spare parts are essential for your car.
Car accessories are additional components for your car. In other words, they are not essential but you can use them to enhance your car.
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary