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MichalS Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
Down - near or far?
Hey all,
Take a look at that:
LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English:
down 1, adverb
at or to a place that is not far away: She's just gone down to the shops. I saw her down at the station this morning.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary:
down (DISTANT) adverb
used, especially with prepositions, to emphasize that a place is distant from you or from somewhere considered to be central: I'll meet you down at the club after work. He has a house down by the harbour. I'm going down to the shop to buy some milk.
Don't you think these two definitions contradict each other a little? Which one is to be trusted then?
Michal
Take a look at that:
LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English:
down 1, adverb
at or to a place that is not far away: She's just gone down to the shops. I saw her down at the station this morning.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary:
down (DISTANT) adverb
used, especially with prepositions, to emphasize that a place is distant from you or from somewhere considered to be central: I'll meet you down at the club after work. He has a house down by the harbour. I'm going down to the shop to buy some milk.
Don't you think these two definitions contradict each other a little? Which one is to be trusted then?
Michal
Top answer
Heavens! Could you edit out all this HTML?
- Heavens!
- Could you edit out all this HTML?
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7 Answers
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Sorry for that! What's more I initially gave you a wrong entry but now it's correct.
Thanks
Thanks
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Take a look at that:
LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English:
down 1, adverb
at or to a place that is not far away:
She's just gone down to the shops. I saw her down at the station this morning.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary:
down (DISTANT) adverb
used, especially with prepositions, to emphasize that a place is distant from you or from somewhere
LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English:
down 1, adverb
at or to a place that is not far away:
She's just gone down to the shops. I saw her down at the station this morning.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary:
down (DISTANT) adverb
used, especially with prepositions, to emphasize that a place is distant from you or from somewhere
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Thanks a lot! And sorry for that hassle earlier. It was due to my poor web browser. 
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Strangely, I find neither of these capture the idea well, except for the word "central" in the second definition.
I think "down" is added to indicate that the location in question (shops, station, harbour, club, ...) is, in some vague sense, a center of activity (other than "here"). It can be omitted. (I'll meet you at the club.)
CJ
I think "down" is added to indicate that the location in question (shops, station, harbour, club, ...) is, in some vague sense, a center of activity (other than "here"). It can be omitted. (I'll meet you at the club.)
CJ
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