the exact meaning of 'down'

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

I have 2 questions on the meaning of ‘down’ below:

A: Where is the exit?
B: It’s down the hall to your left.

  1. What’s the meaning of down the hall? To the hall which is downstairs?
  2. B sounds like, I think, ‘Go to the hall which is downstairs and see the left side of you. That’s where the exit is.’ So, I think there should be ‘and’ like this: It’s down the hall and to your left.

What do you think? Please let me know.
Thank you in advance,
sweetpumpkin

2

No, here it just means away from your current position, the adverb 4b definition here: thefreedictionary.com/down It is used this way mainly with narrow passageways, like hallways, roads, streets and so on.

In this context it definitely doesn’t mean a downstairs hall, it means the floor you are on. Notice if she said, “It’s down the stairs and then to your left.” it would mean to go down to a lower floor.

3

Thank you, Luschen. Then how about ‘to the left’? Don’t we need ‘and’ there?

THank you in advance,
sweetpumpkin

4

This is how I interpret the various options:

It’s down the hall and to your left. Means go down the hall and go through a door or take another hallway to the left.
It’s down the hall to your left. Could mean the same as the above statement, or could mean there are two hallways and you should start off by going down the hallway on your left.

It’s down the stairs and to your left. Means go down the stairs {doesn’t say which stairs} and then turn left.
It’s down the stairs to your left. Means to go down the stairs that are on your left {doesn’t say where to go after this}.