Alright, as the title says, I put 'off the coast' in my short story probably not realising what it actually means. here's the part: 'the Seacole family were fishermen, strong hardy folk off the southern coast of Cornwall' I meant to put it as they live on the southern coast, but on further analysis this looks to me as if they live just away from it is that correct?
Hi Ritcherd! don' you say ''the Seacole family were fishermen, strong hardy folks from the coast of Cornwall''? because you refer to a family being FROM a city or place. I am from London.
If you're trying to say they live on the southern coast, then Cacian's right. You would say FROM the coast there. You could however describe them as fishing off the southern coast of Cornwall. (Standing on a beach, pointing the rod at the water.) Or, fishing in boats off the southern coast of Cornwall. (Their boats are out in the water, near the southern coast of Cornwall.) Oh, if you were to say they were "living off the southern coast of Cornwall" that would mean they were from there.
'The Isle of Wight is an island just off the coast of southern England'. The Seacole family live on the southern coast of Cornwall. It's a matter of placement. The sentence could do with some jiggling to make it clearer. Also you say 'the Seacole family were fishermen' - that a little all-encompassing. I have visions of babies in buggies whielding fishing rods.
In that it's considered obsolete, though, not because it's wrong as such. It goes back at least as far as the 10th century.
