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# LaTeX Error: Something's wrong--perhaps a missing \item

This error appears when you have forgotten to include an **`\item`** command. It can also appear from trying to use lists inside a table incorrectly.

## Common Causes

**Forgetting to write \item:**

The most basic example of this error is where you have told LaTeX that you are going to be writing a list, but you have not labelled your list entries with **`\item`** tags. An example of this is shown below

```latex
\begin{itemize}
This is the first entry in our list
\end{itemize}
```

Here, you have told LaTeX that you are writing a list by using the **`itemize`** environment. The mistake that is made is that you haven't labelled your list entry with **`\item`**. This will generate the error shown below:

main.tex, line 6

LaTeX Error: Something's wrong--perhaps a missing \item.

See the LaTeX manual or LaTeX Companion for explanation. Type H for immediate help. ... l.6 \end{itemize} Try typing to proceed. If that doesn't work, type X to quit.

The correct way to write this list is:

```latex
\begin{itemize}
\item This is the first entry in our list
\end{itemize}
```

See [here](/latex/latex-basics/04-lists.md) to learn more about how to make different types of lists in LaTeX.

**Writing lists inside tables incorrectly:**

This error will also appear if you try to number cells within a table using lists, as shown below.

```latex
\begin{tabular}{l}
  \begin{enumerate}
  \item This is item number one\\ \hline
  \item This is item number two
  \end{enumerate}
\end{tabular}
```

This is a mistake, as lists cannot be used to number table cells in this way. One way to solve the problem above would be to create a counter. This can be done by including

```latex
\newcounter{rownumbers}
\newcommand\rownumber{\stepcounter{rownumbers}\arabic{rownumbers}}
```

in the preamble to your document (see [here](http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/21243/automatic-table-row-numbers)). You can then write the above example as

```latex
\begin{tabular}{l r}
  \rownumber & This is item number one\\ \hline
  \rownumber & This is item number two
\end{tabular}
```

![Listexample.PNG](/files/bdTwoua5kvJzqszHdLFQ)

To learn more about how to create counters, check out our [documentation](/latex/formatting/10-counters.md).


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