Nouns - Place or Thing

[needhelp]

I understand that in the sentence "The boat sailed in the pond," the pond is a place because it tells where. What is the pond in the sentence "The pond is big," a place or thing and why?
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NeedHelp

[canadian45]

Hi needhelp
1...You should say 'The boat sailed on the pond.' It sails on the surface of the pond, not in(side) the pond.
2...Use a period, not a comma, at the end of a sentence.
3...The pond is both a thing and a place. Why do you want to choose one over the other?

[needhelp]

Hi, Canadian45!

I understand and know that the sentence should say "on" and not "in." In addition, I understand that I should end a sentence with a period. However, I was not ending my sentence. The point of my question is that on a second grade worksheet, the following were the teacher-selected answers:

Sentence 1: The boat sailed in the pond. --- place
Sentence 2: The pond is big. -- place

My argument is that "pond" is sentence 2 reflects a thing not a place. What do you think?

Thanks!
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NeedHelp

[canadian45]

1...If you have to choose one, I agree that in the second sentence thing is the better choice.
2...I am sorry that I misunderstood about ''not ending my sentence'' but many people would have misunderstood it. Also, ending a sentence with a comma is a very common mistake among some ESL students.