scene

Question

Hi everybody,Could you share with me your opinion about the difference in meaning btw scene,sight and view in these sentences? Are scene, sight and view interchangeable in these cases?A. The boats in Hadson Bay make a beautiful scene. (1)= The boats in Hadson Bay make a beautiful sight. (2)= The boats in Hadson Bay make a beautiful view. (3)         ?B. This is a beautiful rural scene. (4)= This is a beautiful rural sight. (5)=This is a beautiful rural view.  (6)          ?How can we distinguish clearly their meanings?Q

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

These are my thoughts, on the uses you have given:

A (scenic) view is something that remains the same, regardless of whether there are boats there or not, or cows in the field or not. It's pretty to look from that spot.

I think of a scene as something that is (or could be) captured in a picture or a painting.

A beautiful sight is pretty to look at. It could be a pretty natural view, or a really handsome guy, or a check made out to me (a little facetious there), or the boats in the harbor, or the mommy deer and her babies... or anything that gives me pleasure to see.

CalifJim · Answer

(Hudson Bay)

A scene is an entire display of people and/or things before your eyes. You might photograph a scene.

a scene of domestic tranquility - the mother reading to her child
a scene of natural beauty - the forests of New England in autumn
a scene of misery - people caught in a disaster (hurricane, tsunami)
a scene of destruction - the carnage of war

A sight is what appears before your eyes, sometimes unexpectedly. The sight of something is its appearance in your field of vision.

A beautiful sight awaited us around the next bend in the road. It was a waterfall.
The dog had got into a patch of thistles. His fur was covered with them. He was a sight to behold!
The boss is so mean that just the sight of him inspires fear in his employees.
The children performing in the play were encouraged by the sight of their parents in the audience.

A view is a particular perspective on a scene. It is the portion of the scene which is visible from a certain position or standpoint. The idea of a view includes the ability to see something unobstructed. A view may be blocked by something that intervenes.

From the surrounding hills you can get a better view of the city.
A man working in a city sewer does not have much of a view. There is not much of a view from there.
Rounding the bend of the river, we had a marvelous view of the cliffs above.
Ann took pictures of her house from the south side and from the back. I like the view from the south better.

______

To learn the subtle differences between words, you need to study some rather sophisticated sentences, and you need to read a lot. makes a scene / makes a sight / makes a view just aren't enough to explain the differences. They are not spontaneously produced idiomatic uses of the words; they are not the way English speakers use these words.

I can just picture the scene in my mind: It's Hudson Bay. White puffy clouds float in the blue sky, the water laps the shore, and the colorful boats make their way on the bay as gulls call overhead.
Painters are sure to be inspired by the sight of the boats in Hudson Bay.
In my opinion, the best view of the boats in Hudson Bay is from the bridge.

CJ

Tung Quoc · Answer

Thanks,

Here are my last question.

"A sight is what appears before your eyes, sometimes unexpectedly. The sight of something is its appearance in your field of vision. "

Does unexpectedly mean suddenly?

Q

CalifJim · Answer

Does unexpectedly mean suddenly?

They are a little similar, but not exactly the same.

If you don't expect something, and it happens, then it happens unexpectedly. It doesn't have to happen quickly (suddenly). But sometimes unexpected things do happen suddenly (quickly). Then they are unexpected and sudden.

If a turtle crawls up a wall, that's very unexpected, but not sudden.
If you light a firecracker, it will explode suddenly with a loud sound, but that it not unexpected.

CJ

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