Sea
live by the sea
Living in Birmingham is OK. but I'd like to live by the sea.
swim in the sea
The whole family went swimming in the sea.
dive into the sea
I dived off the side of the boat into the sea.
go by sea
Because it is an island, most of Britain's exports go by sea.
drown at sea
My grandfather drowned at sea when his fishing boat sank in a storm.
a calm sea
The sea was very calm. It was like glass.
heavy seas
The crew were rescued minutes before the boat sank in heavy seas.
the open sea
The ferry left the harbor and headed out towards the open sea.
rough seas
A fishing boat is missing in rough seas off the Italian coast.
Notes
Note these ways of describing where something is:
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The town is 2000 meters above sea level.
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The lake is almost 600 feet below sea level.
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The Titanic lies on the sea bed, 12,000 feet below the surface.
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The documentary was about creatures that live at the bottom of the sea.
There are different ways of saying that you work at sea:
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My father is an officer in the Navy. My uncle is a seaman in the merchant navy.
Wave
surf the waves
There were hundreds of young people out surfing the huge waves.
a tidal wave
A tidal wave struck the town, destroying almost all the buildings.
a huge wave
The little boat capsized after it was hit by a huge wave.
waves crash against (the boat. rocks)
Huge waves were crashing against the rocks.
waves lap against (the boat, rocks)
The waves lapped gently against the side of the boat.
waves break on the shore
We sat on the beach watching the waves breaking on the shore.
River
rivers flow
Two major rivers flow through our town.
rivers freeze
The river froze over completely during the freezing weather.
cross a river
The only way to cross the river is by ferry. There isn't a bridge for miles.
pollute a river
Waste from factories continues to pollute our rivers, killing fish and wildlife.
a long river
Is the Nile the longest river in the world or is it the Mississippi?
a wide river
I don't think we'll be able to swim across the river at this point. It's far too wide.
a shallow river
The river's quite deep here. Let's try to cross further up. It looks shallower there.
catch fish in a river
I caught six fish in the River Tyne at the weekend.
sail up / down a river
We were only able to sail up the river as far as the dam.
a bridge across a river
They're building a new bridge across the river.
drift down a river
The boat drifted slowly down the river towards the open sea.
walk along a river
After dinner, we went for a walk along the river bank.
fall into a river
I slipped on the wet ground and fell into the river.
Notes
One side of a river is called the river bank. Both sides are the banks of the river:
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The river overflowed its banks after a week of heavy rainfall.
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The village was flooded when the river rose and burst its banks.
Island
get to / reach an island
The only way to get to the island is by boat. A daily ferry connects it to the mainland.
live on an island
Are there people on the island? I thought nobody lived there.
leave an island
Many of the young people are forced to leave the island to find work on the mainland.
visit an island
We'll be visiting a number of Greek islands on our Mediterranean cruise.
islands attract (tourists)
The island is a popular holiday resort. I attract around 80,000 tourists a year.
sail round an island
We sailed round the island in the middle of the lake, but there was nothing much to see.
a remote island
It's such a remote island that very few tourists go there. It's so difficult to get to.
a desert island
What would you take with you if you had to spend some time alone on a desert island?
a tropical island
My idea of the perfect holiday would be two weeks on a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean!
an island is uninhabited
The island of St Kilda is uninhabited. Nobody lives there anymore. It's off the west coast of Scotland.
Beach
lie on the beach
There's nothing I like better than a beach holiday somewhere really warm. I just love lying on the beach, sunbathing all day long.
clean up the beach
The beach is very dirty. They need to clean it up.
go to the beach
Our kids love going to the beach.
the beach stretches for (miles)
When we went to Cuba, our hotel was right on the beach. It stretched for miles in each direction, as far as the eye could see.
an unspoilt beach
Tourism is new to the area so you'll find a lot of unspoilt beaches.
the whole beach
I had the whole beach to myself. There wasn't another soul in sight!
a dirty beach
Be careful! The local beach is dirty. It's contaminated with raw sewage.
a beautiful beach
The east coast of the country is famous for its beautiful beaches.
a sandy beach
Tourists are attracted to the area by its endless sandy beaches and perfect weather.
a private beach
The hotel has a private beach with a bar.
stroll along the beach
We strolled barefoot along the beach.
people flock to the beach
Because of the good weather, thousands of tourists are flocking to the beaches today.
spend the day at the beach
It was very hot so we decided to spend the day at/on the beach.
something is washed up on the beach
Last week a dead whale was washed up on the beach.
Sand
get sand in (your eyes)
I hate getting sand in my shoes! It's so uncomfortable.
dig in the sand
Our children love digging in the sand and making sand castles.
bury (something) in the sand
I found a set of car keys buried in the sand.
(the wind) blows sand into (your eyes)
A sudden gust of wind blew sand into our faces.
hot sand
The sand was so hot it burnt the soles of my feet.
wet sand
When the tide went out, we walked across the wet sand to the island.
dry sand
I used a towel to brush the dry sand off my feet.
soft sand
My feet kept sinking into the soft sand.
Mountain
the highest mountain
She was the first American woman to climb Everest, the highest mountain in the world.
be surrounded by mountains
Athens is surrounded by mountains. This makes it very very hot in the middle of summer.
climb a mountain
K2 in the Himalayas is a very difficult mountain to climb.
a steep mountain
It is nearly impossible to climb such a steep mountain without special equipment.
a view of a mountain
It was a long climb up the mountain, but the view was worth it.
walk in the mountains
I'm an outdoor person and enjoy walking in the mountains at weekends.
take a (difficult) route through the mountains
We took the scenic route through the mountains on our way to Geneva.
fall to your death on a mountain
Two young climbers fell to their deaths on Mount Blanc yesterday.
the foot/bottom of a mountain
We camped at the foot/bottom of the mountain beside a river.
the side of a mountain
My village is situated on the side of a steep mountain, about halfway up.
a view of a mountain
I had a fantastic view of the mountains from my hotel room.
the top of a mountain
We didn't reach the top of the mountain. We had to turn back because of bad weather.
Forest
destroy a forest
In 1997 huge fires destroyed a large area of tropical rainforest in Borneo.
forests cover (the mountain)
Much of Sweden is covered in dense pine forests.
clear a forest
Every year millions of acres of forest are cleared to make the paper for newspaper.
a path through the forest
There's a path through the middle of the forest. which is quite easy to follow.
forests shrink
The world's tropical rainforests have shrunk to almost half the size they were 10 years ago.
the destruction of the forests
The Green Party argues that we are all responsible for the destruction of our forests, and says that we must all play a part in protecting them for future generations.
Field
farmers plough fields
The farmers don't have tractors. They use oxen to plough their fields.
green fields
The village I live in is surrounded by green fields.
fields of wheat, potatoes, etc
It was a very big farm. There were fields of wheat as far as the eye could see.
animals graze in fields
There were lots of cows grazing in the fields.
Ground
fall to the ground
The old man suddenly collapsed and fell to the ground.
lie on the ground
We lay on the ground and watched the clouds racing across the sky.
be (10 meters) above/off the ground
I had to cross the river using a rope bridge which was about 20 meters above/off the ground.
be below ground
The miners work about 250 meters below ground.
(a building) is burned to the ground
Our school was burned to the ground at the weekend. Police believe the fire was started deliberately.
soft ground
The wheels of the car got stuck in the soft ground.
the ground is frozen
The ground in the garden is too hard to dig. It is frozen solid!
uneven ground
I had to walk carefully over the uneven ground.
Notes
Note how we use 'ground' to describe specific places:
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Seating for spectators is now compulsory at football grounds in the UK.
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There's a Roman burial ground near here, but I'm not sure if anyone famous is buried there.
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We found the old lady wandering around the grounds of the hospital.
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People are using the waste ground behind the old factory to dump old cars and furniture.
The sea was very rough. I didn't really enjoy the ferry crossing.
I sat on the beach watching the waves breaking on the shore.
The River Thames flows through the center of London.
These islands attract thousands of tourists every year.
You’ll love the place with its sunny weather and unspoilt beaches.
I hate it when the wind blows sand in your face.
It's one of the highest mountains in the area.
The world’s rainforests are shrinking rapidly.
Most modern farmers use tractors to plough their fields.
The hotel is only 40 meters from the sea and has its own private beach.
It's quite a remote island. It takes the ferry about 12 hours to get there.
I like going to the swimming pool, but I much prefer swimming in the sea.
We couldn't see the top of the mountain. It was hidden by clouds.
We watched the animals grazing in the field.
Our boat nearly capsized after it was hit by a huge wave.
I think we can cross the river here. It looks quite shallow.
The ground was very uneven in places, so we had to be careful as we walked.
As a child. I loved digging in the sand when we went to the beach.
We spent Sunday at the beach because the weather was so good.
I would like to live in a large house by the sea.
We took the short route through the mountains on our way to Italy
When I was a boy I lived on a small island just off the coast of France.
It was very stormy with big waves crashing against the side of our boat.