UP

[Gorkem Atay]

''I saw her walking UP the street.''

What do you understand from this sentence above?

1. She is walking towards the end of the street.
2. She is walking at the end of the street.( I mean, she is hanging around at the end of the street)
3. Both of them could be correct, there must be a context to understand the situation.

(end of the street is not so much important point here, it is just a referance according to us)

I wish I would tell the problem here...
Thanks,

 

[Barb_D]

Certainly not 2.

I would assume she was walking toward the speaker. (Unless the street is on a hill - then "up" would be "up.")

 

[Matthew Wai]

If it were 'walking down', would it mean 'walking away from the speaker'?
I have long been confused by 'Pretty woman, walking down the street'.

 

[Barb_D]

Honestly, there is no difference in "walking up the street" and "walking down the street" in many, many cases.

I would think "walking up" would mean "walking up towards me" (and this could be a personal opinion not shared by others) but "walking down" could be either direction.

In the song, you could be sitting on a stoop, and she could start away, walk past you, and keep walking, and be "walking down the street."

 

[Raymott]

To me, unless there's other context, walking up or down the street is the same as walking along the street.
And even then, it usually means along the sidewalk or footpath beside the street. There are various factors that can determine whether there is an up end and a down end of a street.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

Yes, they are the same.

If someone is on the street, walking around aimlessly, we would say that they were walking up and down the street.

When someone is pacing, wherever they may be, we would say that they are pacing up and down.

There is no particular direction implied.

 

[konungursvia]

To me, unless there's other context, walking up or down the street is the same as walking along the street.
And even then, it usually means along the sidewalk or footpath beside the street. There are various factors that can determine whether there is an up end and a down end of a street.

I agree. In English we instinctively know that the "up" or "down" in such phrasal verbs is entirely relative and is an arbitrary choice of point of view made by the speaker. The speaker feels that from their point of view the person is moving toward or away, or uphill or downhill, or toward the north or south.

 

[MikeNewYork]

The directions "up" and "down" are very confusing, and they change in different areas. In Manhattan, NY, uptown means north and downtown means south. Regarding the subway system, uptown train means north and/or headed to the Bronx; downtown train means means south and/or heading for Brooklyn. An east-west or west-east train is called crosstown. In Chicago, "downtown" is the main business district for the city. There, one goes "downtown" no matter what direction one is traveling, north, south, or east (There is really no way to go west to downtown because east of downtown is Lake Michigan.)

 

[SoothingDave]

Someone walking up the street is the same as someone walking down the street. Unless the street is on a hill. Then there is an obvious direction meant by "up" or "down."

We were recently in Niagara Falls. On more than one occasion while we were there, my wife spoke about us "coming down" there. We traveled north to get there. I would have said we "came up" there. It's not really about compass direction to most people.

 

[Gorkem Atay]

So, I understand this usage of up or down tells us something about direction, I mean it indicates direction. I want to ask another usage of it like;

A: Did you see Anna today?
B: Yes I have just seen her, she is sitting in a cafe up the street. (it is not about direction but location)

Is it okay?

Thanks

 

[MikeNewYork]

Yes, provided the listener understands.

 

[Gorkem Atay]

For some prepositions, their usage is really hard to understand, especially for learners. In addition to this the usage of ''WOULD'' (!) also hard to understand in some circumstances.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Yes, prepositions (note the spelling), modal verbs, and articles are three of the most difficult issues.