singular and plural

That's a poorly written sentence. I'm not sure what the best way to re-write it would be. How about:

Some teenagers tend to make bad decisions and have large appetites for risk-taking.

"high appetite for risk" is just all wrong...

thanks a lot. i always take it for granted newspapers are always right, but that isn't so apparently. high appetite is wrong.

when you use risk-taking (singular), you are saying it is a state.

I'm not sure what you mean by:




I've never heard "appetite for risk" before. Having an appetite for taking risks seems more likely. It was not a great sentence to start with!

What I did to make both items agree with the subject (teenagers) was to make appetites plural.

thanks. oh, i was saying why risk-taking and not risk-takings.

Oh, I see. It was because appetites needed to be plural, not risk (or risk-taking).

thanks. understood completely.

Not quite!
There is no plural for appetite or risk for that matter.
So, "high appetite for risk" is in fact correct and I have heard
it before. Nothing wrong with the initial sentence.

Hmm, Jane has a point. There are 103 instances of the phrase on Google. I still don't like it, though.

Ah well, you've got multiple options I guess, bmo.

i am so confused. i did a search on google: "high appetite for risk" 104 lisitngs, "large appetite for risk" 80 listings.

i like this website; we can discuss.

What's so confusing?

mac11 is from Houston, and in Texas everything is large.
I'm in California - we're high

mac beat me to the post. (while i was composing.)
apparently both large and high are acceptable, that is confusing, one is size and the other is height, and are used interchangeably in describing appetite. if i did not look it up in the dictionary, i would think appetite only refers to a desire for food.

i am from taiwan and now in california.

thank you all.