Narrow lane down

Question

There was a narrow lane down which only one person could walk. One day when I was walking down the lane, a man stood in my path talking on his cellphone.  I asked him to step aside so that I could pass.Could you please explain to me what "down" means in this context?

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

It has the same meaning as the other down in the sentence:

down –prep.
21. in a descending or more remote direction or place on, over, or along: They ran off down the street.
(RHUD)

CB

User_gary · Answer

Thanks Cool Breeze.
But I can't quite understand it.

Fandorin · Answer

Imagine a street and if you go down the street you walk towards the end of it.

Cool Breeze · Answer

User_garyBut I can't quite understand it.

My fault!

I should have paid more attention to the title you had given to your post:Narrow lane down. Lane and down don't belong together at all.

"There was a narrow lane down which only one person could walk."

Down and which belong together. Which begins a relative clause and down is a preposition before it. I'll write some examples in which a preposition precedes which:

There was a table on which there were two books.
This is the house in which he lives.
We'll soon come to the street on which he lives.
This is the path along/down which he used to run in his younger days.
Have you seen the film about which I told you last weeek?

CB

Narrow lane down

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions