Incident/Accident/Event

[englishhobby]

We were fortunate to get back without ...

an accident<····· correct
an incident
an event




1. In the above question I chose "an incident" according to a dictionary definition:

http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/incident

without incident = without trouble

But when I checked it I saw that my answer was wrong. Why? :?: Is it because of the article?



2. When a chandelier crashed down on to the people in the Opera House and hurt and even killed some of them (in "The Phantom of the Opera"), was it an accident or an incident? I think it was an incident as it had been planned by the Phantom and done by him intentionally. Right?

 

[emsr2d2]

It's an unfair question unless the responder is supposed to know that "without incident" is the standard English phrase. For a native, the only acceptable answer is "without an accident" because "without an incident" and "without an event" are inappropriate.

 

[5jj]

It's an unfair question

This type of question often is. The question-setter seems to be getting a kick out of showing off his/her superb command of the language. It's particularly silly in this case, because, in my opinion, most native speakers would not find 'without an incident' particularly gross.

 

[englishhobby]

To sum up, are "without incident" and "without an accident" both fine and mean the same?

 

[5jj]

To sum up, are "without incident" and "without an accident" both [STRIKE]fine[/STRIKE] acceptable/OK and do they mean the same?

Yes and no.

They are both acceptable, but they do not mean the same. Being stopped by the police for speeding might be called an incident; it is not an accident.

We do not normally use 'fine' in the sense of 'acceptable' in negative or interrogative sentences,