A wrong answer from a test on your site.

[alesult]

Are these ones correct?
"There was no use in waiting until six o'clock so we left."
and
"Is there any use in trying again?"

[Tdol]

No-
There was no point in waiting...
Is there any point in...

I found the first question and it gives 'point' as the answer ( http://www.usingenglish.com/members/...ers.php?id=157 ), which is what is practised in exams like UCLES, which is why it is there. However, I can't find the second- can you remember where you saw the second? Did it give you 'use' as the answer? It really shouldn't- the database has 'point'.

[alesult]

It is from my book The BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English.
So is it wrong too?

[Tdol]

It's a tricky one, because it is specifically practised in some exams, which is why I put it in. They are aiming at certain structures and there would go for 'point', which is why I put the question in, to give practice in this. In exams, which do sometimes reflect a slightly unnatural form of English, they would be looking for 'no use' without the preposition after it. It does occur with the preposition, but this is generally in more colloquial English, and is five times less common. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's wrong- it occurs, but in the context of an exam, and that was the context of the question, then I'd say avoid the preposition, because that is what they are looking for. In everday life, things are often very different from the rarified atmosphere of the University of Cambridge examination room.

[Tdol]

If I can just add a PS, the more I look at it, the less I like the question, but I put it there because it does come up fairly regularly.