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Drift at/in

Fishermen found abondend boat drifting in / at sea.

Navy recovered hundreds of Syrian dead bodies drifting in / at sea.

PLease clear my confusion.
Fishermen found abondend boat drifting in / at sea. πŸ‘ Cross :cross:

Fishermen found an/the abandoned boat drifting in at sea. πŸ‘ Tick :tick:

Fishermen found an/the abandoned boat drifting in the sea. πŸ‘ Tick :tick:


Navy recovered hundreds of Syrian dead bodies drifting in / at sea. πŸ‘ Cross :cross:

The Navy recovered hundreds of Syrian dead bodies drifting at sea. πŸ‘ Tick :tick:

The Navy recovered hundreds of Syrian dead bodies drifting in the sea. πŸ‘ Tick :tick:
Also note the "adrift" form of that word (from Google definitions):

aΒ·drift
Ι™Λˆdrift/
adjective & adverb
  1. (of a boat or its passengers) floating without being either moored or steered.
kanu was asking about 'in or at sea' as two options. I offered either 'in the sea' or 'at sea'.

' . . . on the sea' might be OK in other contexts, but in this context, I don't think it would work.
kanu was asking about 'in or at sea' as two options. I offered either 'in the sea' or 'at sea'.

' . . . on the sea' might be OK in other contexts, but in this context, I don't think it would work.

I thought that boats drifted over the surface of water, and hence we should say "on the sea", don't we?
Yes, as I say, in some contexts that would be fine and correct and idiomatic. But not in this context. They found the boats at sea, or in the sea.

I think the difference is in the meaning of 'sea' here. A boat drifts/floats on the sea (physically on the water), but the boats were found drifting in the sea (in the large area of water we call 'the sea').

Does that make sense?
Yes, as I say, in some contexts that would be fine and correct and idiomatic. But not in this context. They found the boats at sea, or in the sea.

I think the difference is in the meaning of 'sea' here. A boat drifts/floats on the sea (physically on the water), but the boats were found drifting in the sea (in the large area of water we call 'the sea').

Does that make sense?

Now it is clear the idea was about the place where the boats were found, not about the conception of in the water or on the water surface.
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