the difference between surroundings and environment

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gloria0402@gmail.com - 23 Nov 2006 07:23 GMT

Hi,

I have checked the dictiionary, and find there is a thin line between
"surroundings" and "environment," which is sometimes very confusing.

Recently I read a sentence in a cloze test and find it difficult to
explain the difference between these two words. Please offer your
valuable opinion.

We all have experience with dreams. In our dreams, we can be anybody
doing something in some unknown place. Sometimes, when we dream, we are
just passengers, unable to control our actions; other times, we are
like audience or bystanders in strange yet familiar ____, watching
everything going by in silence.

a) setting b) surroundings c) environment d) positions

The answer is b), but why can't c) be an answer as well?

I read a sample sentence related to "surroundings" like that:

she grew up in comfortable surroundings.

And another sentence related to "environment" like that:

Children need a happy home environment.

Then it seems to me that these two words almost mean the same thing. Is
there any difference between them? And could I also choose c) as an
answer? Thanks.

Gloria

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Paul {Hamilton Rooney} - 23 Nov 2006 07:34 GMT

>Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
>The answer is b), but why can't c) be an answer as well?

Because it says 'in strange yet....', not 'in a strange yet....'

>I read a sample sentence related to "surroundings" like that:
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>Then it seems to me that these two words almost mean the same thing. Is
>there any difference between them?

Not really. Not here.

> And could I also choose c) as an
>answer? Thanks.

Yes, if a singular word would fit, you could choose it.

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Martin Ambuhl - 23 Nov 2006 07:59 GMT

> We all have experience with dreams. In our dreams, we can be anybody
> doing something in some unknown place. Sometimes, when we dream, we are
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> The answer is b), but why can't c) be an answer as well?

No. Any of "setting," "surrounding," "environment," or "position"
would, as singular count nouns, require an article, as in "in a strange
yet familiar setting." One need not even bother with the semantic
difference between "surroundings" and "environment." The syntax alone
rules out (c).

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Eric Walker - 23 Nov 2006 08:43 GMT

> I have checked the dictiionary, and find there is a thin line between
> "surroundings" and "environment," which is sometimes very confusing.
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> The answer is b), but why can't c) be an answer as well?

The answer lies not in the meaning, but in the grammatical form. The
word "environment" is singular, and so if it were the wanted choice,
the sentence would have to say "in *a* strange yet familiar" (and the
same applies for "setting").

Choice (b), "surroundings", is plural, and so does not need or accept
an article; that is also true of choice (d), but that choice simply
does not fit the sense of the statement.

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006

the difference between surroundings and environment