Sweep away Vs Wash ashore?

[sambistapt]

Hello amigos!

A boat was sweep away/washed ashore by the tropical storm.

They seem quite similar to me, the boat was taken to the shore by the storm ( strong wind, water, tide ..) Am I mistaken about that? If so, please show me where I got wrong;)

Thanks,

Sam

[susiedqq]

Look for clues in the sentence to help you find the correct verb.

The boat was washed . . .

[amigos4]

Originally Posted by sambistapt

Hello amigos!

A boat was sweep away/washed ashore by the tropical storm.

They seem quite similar to me, the boat was taken to the shore by the storm ( strong wind, water, tide ..) Am I mistaken about that? If so, please show me where I got wrong;)

Thanks,

Sam

Hi, Sam!

The two expressions are very different.

First, because 'was' is in the past tense, 'sweep' must be changed to 'swept' to accommodate verb agreement. "A boat was 'swept' away by the tropical storm."

Next, we know a boat was 'swept away' but there is no reason to believe that it landed on the shore. Swept away usually means disappeared or lost at sea.

In the next sentence, "A boat was washed ashore by the tropical storm" leaves no doubt as to what happened to the boat...it was washed ashore!

I hope this is helpful to you.

Cheers,
Amigo