unwelcome / undesired

[CORALINNA]

Time has always been a problem for him. Not a simple problem that a planned schedule would solve. Planning ahead was not enough. I'd say he needed to plan ahead when to plan ahead to avoid unexpected unwelcome / undesired surprises.

Why should I say unwelcome?

 

[JamesM]

(You are going to put "unexpected" next to one of these words? Unexpected seems redundant with "surprise" at the end. It's difficult to imagine an expected surprise. )

I prefer "unwelcome" over "undesired" in this sentence.

(There are other problems with the sentence: "...he needed to plan ahead when to plan ahead..." ??? )

 

[CORALINNA]

Time has always been a problem for him. Not a simple problem that a planned schedule would solve. Planning ahead was not enough. I'd say he needed to plan ahead when to plan ahead to avoid unexpected unwelcome / undesired surprises.

Why should I say unwelcome?

I just copied from a book...Well, unwelcome and undesired would mean the same in this sentence? Because the answer key says it is unwelcome.

 

[Loob]

No, unwelcome and undesired don't mean the same thing.

Undesired refers to your feelings before the surprises happen; unwelcome refers to how the surprises impact on you when they happen. Unwelcome is the better choice, as James says.