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Vsuresh Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

sentence

Hi
Please tell me if this is OK.
Around 5000m of the country's border is surrounded by water.
  

Top answer

vsuresh Around 5000m of the country's border is surrounded by water. 'surrounded' is wrong. A country can be surrounded by water (Australia, Iceland), but a border is a dividing line; it can't be "surrounded" by anything.

— CalifJim

  • vsuresh Around 5000m of the country's border is surrounded by water.
  • 'surrounded' is wrong.
  • A country can be surrounded by water (Australia, Iceland), but a border is a dividing line; it can't be "surrounded" by anything.
  • Perhaps [About / Around] 5000 meters of the country's border is [on / in contact with] water.
  • I'd say About 5000 meters of the country's border is coastline.
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3 Answers
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vsureshAround 5000m of the country's border is surrounded by water.
'surrounded' is wrong.

A country can be surrounded by water (Australia, Iceland), but a border is a dividing line; it can't be "surrounded" by anything.

Perhaps

[About / Around] 5000 meters of the country's border is [on / in contact with] water.

I'd
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It's not wrong, but it sounds unnatural to say that a border is 'surrounded'.

You could say
eg Around 5000m of the country's border is off-shore.

Clive
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Thank you very much to both of you.
Your answers are always most meaningful and thoughtful.
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