Anonymous  +  425533 Sun, 30 Sep 07 03:11 PM The down-bound train arrived at its destination. Then it turned around for the return trip. (Or the train turned around upbound.) Is there anything wrong with these sentences? If so, point it out. Thank you in advance. Anonymous

	Grammar Geek  +  425538 Sun, 30 Sep 07 03:32 PM The downtown-bound train. Or, more commonly, the downtown train. I have never heard down-bound or up-bound. Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,660 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!

	Clive  +  425540 Sun, 30 Sep 07 03:36 PM Hi, The down-bound train arrived at its destination. Then it turned around for the return trip. (Or the train turned around upbound.) These are OK, except that we don't really say 'upbound/downbound'. You could say, informally, 'the up train', 'the down train'. We also speak of 'the northbound train', 'the southbound train'. Also, it sounds slightly odd to me to say that a train 'turned around'. I'd say something like 'It prepared for / started on / embarked on' the return trip. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,612 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	Clive  +  425572 Sun, 30 Sep 07 05:43 PM Hi, Bruce Springsteen sings this. I had a job, I had a girl I had something going mister in this world I got laid off down at the lumber yard Our love went bad, times got hard Now I work down at the carwash Where all it ever does is rain Don't you feel like you're a rider on a downbound train This use of 'downbound' is OK to me, because 'up' and 'down' are terms about your emotions. 'I feel up' means I'm happy. 'I feel down' means I'm unhappy. He's clearly unhappy in this song. Generally speaking, it seems to me that, to sound OK, the term needs to be used in a context where you can conceive of some kind of an 'up' diection and a 'down' direction. For example, a river has an up and a down, so I can find some references to 'downbound' ships that sound OK. Clive Clive