0

sun [singular, uncountable] the light and heat from the sun SYNONYM sunshine

the warmth of the afternoon sun

The sun was blazing hot.

This room gets the sun in the mornings.

in the sun We sat in the sun.

The harvested crop is dried in the hot Indian sun.

They've booked a holiday in the sun (= in a place where it is warm and the sun shines a lot).

out of the sun We did our best to keep out of the sun.

Her face had obviously caught the sun (= become red or brown) on holiday.

Too much sun ages the skin.

I was driving westwards and I had the sun in my eyes (= the sun was shining in my eyes).

Patients are advised to avoid sun exposure for six weeks.

Normally, we say "sit/stand in the sun" in an open space such as "on a beach" or "on the street".

But I am not sure I can say "sit/stand in the sun" when I am standing on a spot that is covered with some sunlight inside my house.

There is some sunlight flooding into the room.

You child is standing on the spot that is covered with the sunlight.

Would you say "Don't stand in the sun. You'll get burnt" or "Stay away from the sunlight."?

Improve this question
6
  • 1
    A child standing in the same place, by an open window, for long enough to get burnt is such an unlikely scenario that we have no particular expression for it. If the child is old enough to understand we would probably say, "You shouldn't stand in the sun for too long: you might get burnt." Or just "Keep out of the sun" if we were being brusque, or couldn't be bothered to explain why.
    – Old Brixtonian
    Apr 28, 2020 at 2:20
  • 1
    @Tom, are you ever going to ask about saying kind things to your child, or is it always going to be orders and warnings?
    – Michael Harvey
    Apr 28, 2020 at 5:55
  • @MichaelHarvey, maybe I got influenced by my culture. That is how Asian people teach their children. For example, in the West, if a child broke a glass, the parents might say "That's ok, honey". But in Asian, the child would have been told off. I admit that I am a bit rough but my child won't listen to me if I am so soft. I know some Asian Western couples have some different view points of teaching their children.
    – Tom
    Apr 28, 2020 at 6:38
  • 2
    My father's main mode of communication was always rebukes, commands, criticisms, etc. He know no kindness. When he died, I had not spoken to him for 30 years. Your choice.
    – Michael Harvey
    Apr 28, 2020 at 7:06
  • @MichaelHarvey, I am sorry to hear that, my father is too. I don't like him, but I think he is more careful than other dads. Careful people don't like mistakes. I got influenced by him in teaching my child. Now, he always says why I am so rough talking to children.
    – Tom
    Apr 28, 2020 at 7:35

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

You should say:

Don't stand in the sun. You'll get burned.

"Burnt" is more commonly used as an adjective, for example:

  • The toast will burn
  • The toast burned
  • Don't eat burnt toast.

Saying "stay away from the sunlight" instead of your phrase in question might have the same effect if the person you say it to obeys the order, but it doesn't give a reason for doing so.

As to whether or not you can get sunburn inside - this is not really an English language question, but glass apparently absorbs 97 per cent of UV rays, so sitting behind glass would be the equivalent of wearing factor 30 suncream. You could get burned but only from very long exposure.

Improve this answer
1
  • Yeah, But I don't have that glass. We just open the door completely to enjoy fresh air but sunlight do floods into the room.
    – Tom
    Apr 28, 2020 at 10:59

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .