 New2grammar wrote: |
Is it wrong to say 'We sat under the sun, eating ice-cream.'? |
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Is it wrong to say 'We sat under the sun, eating ice-cream'? YES.
'sun' means 'the heat and light that come from the sun'.
Therefore, it should be "We sat
in the sun, eating ice-cream."
We can discuss anything
under the sun. (We can talk about anything.)
'sun' also means the burning star in the sky, from which the earth receives light and heat.So if you use 'under the sun', you are referring to the burning star. Logically, it would appear that 'We sat under the sun' is correct. After all, we are under the sun. However, because 'sun' also refers to the heat and light from the sun, we have to say 'We sit in the sun' although it seems to mean that we are inside the sun.
Think of 'sun' as 'sunshine' and it becomes clearer why we should say 'We sit
in the sun."