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In or under the sea [submarine]

L

Loafer

Member
Russian
Would you say "under the Black Sea" or "in the Black Sea"talking about a submarine.

The submarine is operating in / under the Black Sea now.

I'm more comfortable with "in".

Thanks.
 
    • In your sentence"Black Sea" is a geographical areait is therefore "in". = within the boundaries of.

    The submarine is operating in the Black Sea nowtroops are in Crimea and aircraft are patrolling in areas to the north.
     
    I agree with Paul: the sentence tells us where the submarine is located geographicallyso "in" not "under".
     
    Hmmm... as submarines areby defaultassumed to be beneath the surfaceI'm not sure that "under" works with the verb "to be" or a geographical area.

    "German submarines lurked/hunted/patrolled beneath the Atlantic." :confused:
    "German submarines lurked/hunted/patrolled beneath the waves of the Atlantic." :tick:
     
    How about "20,000 leagues under the sea"?

    Is it possible that one can say "submarine under the sea" (sea = surface of the sea)but not "submarine under the Black Sea". That is you can't use "under" when the geographical name is mentioned?
     
    Loafer said:
    How about "20,000 leagues under the sea"?
    Click to expand...
    That is not a sentence. If it were turned into a sentencethen it might be "This adventure takes place 20,000 leagues below the surface of the sea."

    "below the surface of the sea." is not a geographical location in the way that "the Black Sea" is.

    Note #6 for the proper use of under in your context.
     
    Szkot said:
    If you are you wanting to say it is submergedunder would be better.
    Click to expand...
    But "under the sea" means in the earth. :eek: :eek: :eek:
    I think it can only be "in the Black Sea" or "under the surface of the Black Sea".

    HoweverI think "under the sea" is common in story writing. Is it because it's easier for little kids to picture the scene?
     
    Andygc said:
    Noit does not. It means "below the surface of the sea". Which is also what "submarine" means.
    Click to expand...
    So would you accept that it's fine to use "under the sea" in the following?

    Under the seaa lot of fish are playing around a reef.
     
    bennymix said:
    Sounds odd unless it's talking about dwellers on the ocean floor. I prefer 'in' here.

    EB: //Under the seaa lot of fish are playing around a reef.//
    Click to expand...
    Would you find the line acceptable if it is found in a children's story?

    It seems to me that even among native speakersthere is disagreement about whether it's "in the sea" or "under the sea" in my sentence.

    One camp takes the phrase more literallyand frowns on using "under the sea" to mean "below the surface of the sea".

    The other camp thinks "under the sea" could mean "below the surface of the sea"perhaps taking a more poetic approach.
     
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    We shouldn't be led astray by the title of Jules Verne's famous novelwhere there is a distance that can only be measured from the surface of the seatherefore it's "under (the surface) of the sea".

    With modern technologya lot of activity goes on underneath the sea bedmaking "under the sea" somewhat ambiguous. Where the meaning is clear (submarines don't operate under the sea bed)I think either preposition might be used without fear of confusion.

    The submarine is operating under the Black Sea... seems to suggest that during this operation it doesn't surface at all. I don't think that would be unusual.

    Under the sea a lot of fishes are playing around a reef. A reef isn't exactly "under the sea" though. Fishes spend their time "in the sea"as far as I know. Even in shallow rock poolsI'd say they are "in the water".
     
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    velisarius said:
    Under the sea a lot of fishes are playing around a reef. A reef isn't exactly "under the sea" though. Fishes spend their time "in the sea"as far as I know. Even in shallow rock poolsI'd say they are "in the water".
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    Can I picture a reef as being at the bottom of the searight on the sea bedand therefore reasonably say "Under the sea" in my sentence about the fish playing around a coral reef?
     
    velisarius said:
    Under the sea a lot of fishes are playing around a reef. A reef isn't exactly "under the sea" though. Fishes spend their time "in the sea"as far as I know. Even in shallow rock poolsI'd say they are "in the water".
    Click to expand...
    By "a lot of fishes"do you mean "many different species of fish"?
     
    SorryI didn't notice you wrote "a lot of fish". You mentioned a children's storywhich is why I automatically wrote "fishes". It makes them seem more like "characters" than someone's dinner.
     
    To clarify the frequently misunderstood title of Jules Verne's book"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" refers to a total distance traveled. It's not about how far under the water they are but about how far they traveled under the water at all. 20,000 leagues is 60,000 miles and 96,000 km. So they circumnavigated the world for 20,000 leagues.

    As to the rest of the topic in generalI think it really depends very subtly on context what sounds correct. It's common terminology to say a submarine is operating in the Black Sea. Of course that means it spends a significant amount of time underwaterbecause it's a submarinebut that's not usually explicitly stated in that kind of context since it's a given. The more specific the context is in talking about the physical submarine itself and whatever local conditions it's in would maybe make it more important to mention under versus at the surface.

    - They were transiting back to Pearl Harbor underwater when they hit a sea mount.

    -They were transiting back to Pearl Harbor on the surface when they were attacked by dive bombers.
     
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