# o oyogu, de oyogu



## L.gray

Hello everyone 

And aside from that, can anyone explain to me the difference in meaning of the following sentences:
- Umi de oyoide imashita,
- Umi wo oyoide imashita,
- Umi no naka ni oyoide imashita,
- Umi no naka de oyoide imashita.
Thanks in advance 
Mikołaj.


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## SoLaTiDoberman

- Umi de oyoide imashita ---> usual way to say, "I was swimming in the sea."
- Umi wo oyoide imashita---> a little more emphasizing "in the sea", not  in a swimming pool nor a river.
"It was the sea where I was swimming in."

- Umi no naka ni oyoide imashita, ---> Umi no naka ni ite, oyoide imashita. "I was swimming, when I was in the sea." _ This version may have the connotation that I was diving in the sea, or I was swimming under the water of the sea, the submarine swimming._

- Umi no naka de oyoide imashita. ---> the usual way to say, "I was swimming in the sea."
_This version may have the connotation that I was diving in the sea, or I was swimming under the water of the sea, the submarine swimming. Maybe the subject is a fish, or a mermaid._


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## DaylightDelight

Umi de oyoide imashita: I agree with SLTD; this is the most usual and neutral usage.
Umi wo oyoide imashita: When verbs like oyogu (swim), hashiru (run), tobu (fly) are used with "wo", they express certain sense of direction/progress/purpose.  When you go to a beach and enjoy bathing, it's "umi *de* oyogu".  If you are trying to cross Strait of Dover by swimming, then it's "umi *wo* oyogu".  For "fish swim in the sea", we say "sakana ga umi *wo* oyogu" but not "sakana ga umi *de* oyogu".
Umi no naka ni oyoide imashita: Sounds unnatural to me.  SLTD's is one way to interpret it, I guess.
Umi no naka de oyoide imashita: This also sounds unnatural to me. "Umi no naka" means under the sea, and it doesn't go well with the casual-ness/neutral-ness of "de". To me, "umi no naka *wo* oyoide imashita" sounds far more natural and likely.


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## 810senior

L.gray said:


> - Umi de oyoide imashita,
> - Umi wo oyoide imashita,  (the particle wo can be used to indicate the _direction_, as in yama-wo aruk-u[to walk in the mountain], sora-wo tob-u[fly through the sky])
> - Umi no naka ni oyoide imashita, (perhaps allowable but that's not commonly said)
> - Umi no naka de oyoide imashita.


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## frequency

L.gray said:


> And aside from that, can anyone explain to me the difference in meaning of the following sentences:
> Umi no naka ni oyoide imashita,
> Umi no naka de oyoide imashita.


Good, but think like this:
'Naka' can use both _ni_ and _de_. I guess that's why you wondered. And when you say
Naka _ oyogu, we usually use de. Why? It's something similar to a rule.



> Umi de oyoide imashita,
> - Umi wo oyoide imashita,


This is as well. 'Oyogu' can use both _wo_ and _de_, so the two are very correct and you can say both. _Umi de oyogu_ and _Umi wo oyogu_ have the same meaning.


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## rainicornsan

Does it have anything to do with the fact that wo is also used to express a motion through something (crossing something)?


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## DaylightDelight

rainicornsan said:


> Does it have anything to do with the fact that wo is also used to express a motion through something (crossing something)?


Exactly.  So "wo" gives the impression of motion/direction/purpose to the sentence.


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## frequency

rainicornsan said:


> Does it have anything to do with the fact that wo is also used to express a motion through something (crossing something)?


That a bit depends on the verb, but likely. This thread may be good for you.


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## rainicornsan

Thanks everyone


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