where is the error in this sentence???

[cherry maltezidou]

in a task i've been given the sentence "The Mississippi and the Lake Michigan are in the United States". There is an error but i can not find it...why is it wrong?

[Khosro]

in a task i've been given the sentence "The Mississippi and the Lake Michigan are in the United States". There is an error but i can not find it...why is it wrong?

We use "lake" without "the".(Murphy, "English grammar in use")

[engee30]

in a task i've been given the sentence "The Mississippi and the Lake Michigan are in the United States". There is an error but i can not find it...why is it wrong?

♥♦♣♠ NOT A TEACHER ♥♦♣♠
With names of lakes, you do not need an article, unless you say:
the Lake of Michigan.

[Raymott]

in a task i've been given the sentence "The Mississippi and the Lake Michigan are in the United States". There is an error but i can not find it...why is it wrong?

I'd also add "River" at the first mention of Mississippi if this were an essay. Most people would know this, but "The Adda and Lake Como are in Italy" is not as clear.

[Barb_D]

♥♦♣♠ NOT A TEACHER ♥♦♣♠
With names of lakes, you do not need an article, unless you say:
the Lake of Michigan.

Why would you say "The Lake of Michigan"? It's Lake Michigan.

Trivia question: Which lake DOES use "the"?

[engee30]

Why would you say "The Lake of Michigan"? It's Lake Michigan..

Since it's possible to refer to New York City as the City of New York, or to the Vistula River as the River of Vistula, I believe it could be alike in the case of a lake.

Trivia question: Which lake DOES use "the"?

I haven't a clue, Barb_D, but since there are examples of a few mountains referred to with the definite article, I believe there are exceptions with lakes as well, of which I am totally unaware, though.

[Barb_D]

engee, I spent the first 20 years of my life less than 100 km from New York City and never once did I hear it called "The City of New York."

Lake Michigan is Lake Michigan, not the Lake of Michigan.
New York City is New York City, not the City of New York.
Oklahoma City is Oklahoma City, not the City of Oklahoma.
Sioux City, Iowa, is Sioux City, not the City of Sioux or even the City of the Sioux.

Don't mess around with proper names.

(I surely cannot speak of your other example, since I don't have it as part of my native vocabulary.)

The Great Salt Lake is in Utah.

[engee30]

engee, I spent the first 20 years of my life less than 100 km from New York City and never once did I hear it called "The City of New York."

Oh dear - I am beginning to worry that I spend too much time reading English textbooks and grammars. Here's an example showing that the form the + noun + of + proper noun is truly in use:
The College of the City of New York ... - Google Ksi

[Barb_D]

For whatever reason, the people who named the college named it that. The proper name of the COLLEGE is the College of the City of New York. That does not mean anyone would say "I"m going to the City of New York for the weekend. I'm so excited!"

[engee30]

That does not mean anyone would say "I"m going to the City of New York for the weekend. I'm so excited!"

Barb_D, the thing is that I simply wanted to show you that such use (the + noun + of + proper noun) really exists in the world of English. Whether people would say it or not is a different matter. I can't now remember the name of the book in which it is described in detail; maybe TheParser will be the one who knows which book I'm talking about (I've noticed through his posts that he often cites the books he has read, some of which I've read too).