... put them back in a cupboard lower down.

[kadioguy]

It was a very strange hole. Alice was falling very slowly, and she had time to think and to look around her. She could see nothing below her because it was so dark. But when she looked at the sides of the hole, she could see cupboards and books and pictures on the walls. She had time to take things out of a cupboard, look at them, and then put them back in a cupboard lower down.

(Quoted from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Oxford Bookworms Library)
----------
a. ... then put them back in a cupboard lower down.
b. ... then put them back in a cupboard low down.
c. ... then put them back in a cupboard down.

What is the difference in meaning between them?

 

[Rover_KE]

b does not make it clear that the articles were put in a cupboard lower than before.

c is ungrammatical.

 

[kadioguy]

a. ... then put them back in a cupboard lower down.
a'. ... then put them back in a cupboard lower.

What is the difference in meaning between them? Could you please tell me?

 

[Tarheel]

"She put them in a cupboard lower down" means she put those items in a cupboard lower than the first one.

Don't assume every possible combination of words has some meaning.

 

[kadioguy]

"She put them in a cupboard lower down" means she put those items in a cupboard lower than the first one.

Don't assume every possible combination of words has some meaning.

So do (a) and (a') actually mean the same thing?

 

[Tdol]

a'. ... then put them back in a cupboard lower.

This would only make sense in a context where we know what the cupboard is lower than.

 

[kadioguy]

a'. ... then put them back in a cupboard lower.

This would only make sense in a context where we know what the cupboard is lower than.

Whereas (a) makes sense in most contexts, right?

After reading your post and Tarheel's, I am still a little confused about "... lower" and "... lower down". :-?

 

[GoesStation]

A' doesn't work for me.

 

[emsr2d2]

"low down" simply implies a particular position. "lower down" implies a position in relation to something else.

 

[kadioguy]

"low down" simply implies a particular position. "lower down" implies a position in relation to something else.

What would it imply if I omitted "down" in it?

 

[jutfrank]

It doesn't sound right with just lower but I assume most people would naturally assume you mean 'lower down', i.e. lower down than before.

 

[Tdol]

What would it imply if I omitted "down" in it?

You could say a lower cupboard.

 

[YAMATO2201]

It doesn't sound right with just lower

Is the following analysis correct?

and then put them back in a cupboard lower down.

1) lower is an adverb.

2) down is an adverb.

3) lower modifies down.

4) lower down is an adverbial phrase.

5) lower down modifies cupboard.

 

[YAMATO2201]

Is the following analysis correct?

and then put them back in a cupboard lower down.

1) lower is an adverb.

2) down is an adverb.

3) lower modifies down.

4) lower down is an adverbial phrase.

5) lower down modifies cupboard.

Solved.

 

[kadioguy]

Solved.

Could you tell me your answer?

 

[YAMATO2201]

Could you tell me your answer?

Two native English speakers say my analysis is correct.

 

[kadioguy]

a. ... then put them back in a cupboard lower down. (O)
b. ... then put them back in a cupboard low down. (O)
c. ... then put them back in a cupboard down.(X)
d. ... then put them back in a cupboard lower.(X)
e. ... then put them back in a lower cupboard.(O)

"Low down" simply implies a particular position.
"Lower down" implies a position in relation to something else.
-------------

Have I understood it correctly?

 

[jutfrank]

Is the following analysis correct?

and then put them back in a cupboard lower down.

1) lower is an adverb.

2) down is an adverb.

3) lower modifies down.

4) lower down is an adverbial phrase.

5) lower down modifies cupboard.

I think those are all wrong.

I see lower down as adjectival here as it describes a position. It doesn't modify cupboard, no. It describes to the listener what position in the cupboard to put them.

Hopefully, someone with more expertise than I will correct me.

 

[YAMATO2201]

I think those are all wrong.

I see lower down as adjectival here as it describes a position. It doesn't modify cupboard, no. It describes to the listener what position in the cupboard to put them.

Hopefully, someone with more expertise than I will correct me.

Thank you very much, jutfrank. :-D

I think there's more than one way to parse "and then put them back in a cupboard lower down".

 

[kadioguy]

I see lower down as adjectival here as it describes a position. It doesn't modify cupboard, no. It describes to the listener what position in the cupboard to put them.

Did you mean the context is important?

In the original the context I think it means Alice put them back in another cupboard below the original one, but in this stand-alone sentence it could be explained as you said.