Grammar fix
cover the distance
travel a certain distance
to travel from one place to another, especially when talking about how far you go
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
It took us three hours to cover the distance between the two cities.
During my last holiday, we rented bikes and managed to cover the distance from our hotel to the beach in under an hour.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: We covered a long way before lunch.
Say: We covered a long distance before lunch.
You 'cover a distance / the ground' — 'a long way' goes with 'come a long way' (a different meaning).
Which sounds natural?
Tap the one a native speaker would say.
'Traversed' is literary; 'cover the distance' is the natural way to talk about how far you went.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
cover + distance
- the distance
- a lot of ground
- 20 miles
- the ground quickly