covered with/covered in/covered by

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to explain to me the following metamorphoses of the primary meaning of the words by using of different prepositions?

The box is covered with iron.

The furniture was covered in chinitz.

In the corner stood a statue covered by a white sheet.

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

[Tdol]

To be honest, there's not much difference to me. The first sounds as though the covering might not be 100%.

[vil]

Hi Tdol,

I think that I am not entirely unjustified in saying “Yes. Really and truly it is all too obvious that there are modifications in the primary meaning of the words.

cover with = face, revet, wainscot

cover in = upholster

cover by = conceal, undercover

Regards,

V.

[Raymott]

Hi Tdol,

I think that I am not entirely unjustified in saying “Yes. Really and truly it is all too obvious that there are modifications in the primary meaning of the words.

cover with = face, revet, wainscot

cover in = upholster

cover by = conceal, undercover

Regards,

V.

You're right, but there's no simple way to tell which preposition you need.
Covered in often means spattered with, not fully covered: covered in mud, blood, pimples. Here the focus is generally on the mud, etc.
Covered by often implies that it is concealed, as you say.
Covered with can mean either of the above.
Sometimes they're interchangeable: covered by/in/with snow.