Google
English-Test.net
Find penpals and make new friends today!
 
conversion; stock market; trade; barter; conversation
focus
familiar
exchange
general
Free TOEIC test: Free word games online: Nouns Adjectives Game Answer
 
Username
Password
 Remember me? 
Search   FAQ   Memberlist   Profile   Private messages   Register   Log in 

'Cove' vs 'Bay'



 
ESL/EFL Worksheets and Handouts for Students Printable, photocopiable, clearly structured
Designed for teachers and individual learners
For use in a classroom, at home, on your PC
ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
"at that place" vs "in that place" | A beauty (full) mind.
Message Author
'Cove' vs 'Bay' Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:02 pm  'Cove' vs 'Bay'
 

Hi

Quote:
Bay and Cove

I only understand these two words only in my imaginations. Would you say they are synonymous for a non-geographical man? Can they be seen in a picture or are they too enormous for it?

Also, were the daffodils along the lake or the bay?

Quote:
I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

Many thanks,

Tom
Tom
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 30 May 2006
Posts: 2038

'Cove' vs 'Bay' Sat Jul 05, 2008 20:27 pm  'Cove' vs 'Bay'
 

Hah, I think this could be another beach vs. shore debate! Rolling Eyes

For the most part, yes, I think the two are interchangeable. I believe the actual differences have to do with size, with a cove being slightly smaller and more secluded than a bay, but the definitions are certainly very loose, and not worth debating.

In the poem you quote, "Daffodils", by William Wordsworth (what a great name for a poet, no?!) the daffodils are along the bay of the lake.

The lake he's referring to apparently has a bay on it.

A bay or cove is just a part of a body of water that sort of sticks off to the side of the main body of water.

Here's an map showing several bays and coves of different sizes. I just randomly chose this one, but keep in mind a bay or cove doesn't have to be off of the ocean. Any body of water large enough to have recessed areas can have bays and coves. I just had problems finding a good picture of a lake bay on the Internet.


_________________
Native speaker but not a perfect speaker.
But completely fluent in over six million forms of Teflese.
Skrej
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 03 Jul 2008
Posts: 373
Location: Not-quite exact central USA

English grammar exercises — improve your English knowledge and vocabulary skillsIn this story you'll learn everything about the passive voiceHow many different ways with words do you know? Subscribe to free email English courseAre you a native speaker of English? Then you should read this!
'Cove' vs 'Bay' Sun Jul 06, 2008 13:48 pm  'Cove' vs 'Bay'
 

My dictionary calls a cove "a small sheltered bay". I always think of a cove as being similar to a cave, while a bay is open.
Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4451
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

'Cove' vs 'Bay' Sun Jul 06, 2008 14:16 pm  'Cove' vs 'Bay'
 

A passage from Wordsworth's sister's journal (Thurs April 15th, 1802) may be of interest here:

Dorothy Wordsworth wrote:
The wind seized our breath the Lake was rough. There was a Boat by itself floating in the middle of the Bay below Water Millock. We rested again in the Water Millock Lane. The hawthorns are black and green, the birches here and there greenish but there is yet more of purple to be seen on the Twigs. We got over into a field to avoid some cows—people working, a few primroses by the roadside, woodsorrel flower, the anemone, scentless violets, strawberries, and that starry yellow flower which Mrs C. calls pilewort.

When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow park we saw a few daffodils close to the water side. We fancied that the lake had floated the seeds ashore and that the little colony had so sprung up. But as we went along there were more and yet more and at last under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country turnpike road. I never saw daffodils so beautiful they grew among the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake, they looked so gay ever glancing ever changing. This wind blew directly over the lake to them.

There was here and there a little knot and a few stragglers a few yards higher up but they were so few as not to disturb the simplicity and unity and life of that one busy highway. We rested again and again. The Bays were stormy, and we heard the waves at different distances and in the middle of the water like the sea.

"Pilewort" was apparently Wordsworth's favourite flower (Ranunculus ficaria, lesser celandine); through a misunderstanding, the unrelated greater celandine (Chelidonium majus) is depicted on his tombstone.

MrP
MrPedantic
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 1303
Location: Southern England

'Cove' vs 'Bay' Sun Jul 06, 2008 14:45 pm  'Cove' vs 'Bay'
 

Jamie (K) wrote:
"a small sheltered bay"
That's also the way I think of a cove.
.
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA

Display posts from previous:   
"at that place" vs "in that place" | A beauty (full) mind.
ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms 'Cove' vs 'Bay' All times are GMT + 2 Hours
Page 1 of 1
Latest topics on ESL EFL Forums
Does "bear the meaning" sound natural?Meaning of "End up"Usage of still (I still have to make a decision today.)"Winner and losers they are like chalk and cheese""point at" vs "point in"Hot News vs Breaking NewsWhat happened vs What was happenedGerund: Organizing the events in efficient and effective mannerDifference between waiting and awaitingSo nice picterIs this text ok? You may have your neck swollen after the injection and it...Expression: "Flashing the headlights of a car..."Meanings of the phrase: I have three boys, kids or sonsExpression: "He lashed me with his whip.""Keep it with you" vs "Keep it with yourself"Food vs FoodsSentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'To park on the hard shoulder'Cove' vs 'Bay'

Discover English-test.net
Questions before you take the GRETake on extra staffMeaning of "a devil of a time"Everything you own to the left?Expression: so much fine health to be pulled downGRE prep test: Word Vocabulary Games: Adjective Noun ListsGRE vocab test: Free word games: Online Adjectives Nouns GameDefine ingenuous, pensive, deadpan, centrifugal, chaotic, transitionImprove vocabulary: Nouns adjectives verbsLearning esl: Singular vs. Plural NounsMaster of science in business management: Cultural Brokerage

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Subscribe to FREE email English course
First name E-mail