Along/down the street

Question

What is the difference between: He was walking along the street, and
He was walking down the street ?

"along" could easily mean parallel to... or on the side of the road. "down" to me would mean that they are physically on the road itself. — d'alar'cop, Feb 01 '14 at 17:30
@d'alar'cop: I don't think so. That would be alongside the road. — FumbleFingers, Feb 01 '14 at 18:24

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 01 '14 at 19:11

Actually both expression mean the same: a continuous movement on the road. In "along" is contained "long", so one may guess the idea is "(on) the length of the road" or in "along the river" "(on) the length beside the river". A verb of movement + down normally describes a mouvent from a higher point to a lower point. But it is also used for horizontal movement.

Along/down the street

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