Why is this wrong?

[Hip2thabone]

I just completed a simple present test exercise but I don't understand why the word turning has been chosen as the correct answer.

As I speak fluently in British English, we would say take the second turn to the right whether I know the individual or not. I have copied and pasted the bit in question below. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

correct sentence:
If you take the first left after the post office, you come to Sally's place and if you take the second turning to the right after that you come to the cottage where Andrew lives.

Correct answer: (d) turning

Your answer was: incorrect
your sentence:
If you take the first left after the post office, you come to Sally's place and if you take the second turn to the right after that you come to the cottage where Andrew lives.

[Beeesneees]

[Alan]

Hi Hip2thabone,

As you are referring to a test that I wrote based on one of my stories, I would like to explain the use of 'turning' in the sentence you have quoted. 'Turn' as a noun is mainly used to describe a movement but in the sentence it isn't a movement that is indicated but one road leading off from another.
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[Beeesneees]

Perhaps I should have made it clearer that both 'turning' and 'turn' are correct.

The difference indicated by Alan is a predominantly BrE distinction.
Turn (noun) - of road/vehicle
3 (especially North American English) (British English also 'turning') a place where a road leads away from the one you are travelling on.
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/turn_2

The fact remains that 'turn' to indicate one road leading off from another is acceptable, and I presume that anyone marking the question manually rather than by computer would accept both answers.
The question asked in the subject line of this thread is "Why is this wrong?"
The answer is "Because only one variation could be inputted into the computer database, so another variation, although correct, was not accepted because of the machine's limitations."
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