Position of "down"

Question

A) I would like to know where the word "down" should be located:

The rain did not come pouring down; it was drizzling.

The rain did not come down pouring; it was drizzling.

Alternatively, would omitting "down" make sense?

The rain did not come pouring; it was drizzling.

B) For #2,3 the word "pouring" is an adjective? And for #1 is it verb or adjective?

Thanks for your help!!

Pouring is not normally used where rain is the subject. (Nothing ungrammatical about it - but just not often used). The usual form is "It was pouring with rain", or - for emphasis It was pouring down. Also available is the noun downpour - e.g. "At three o'clock there was a downpour". — WS2, Commented Aug 15, 2017 at 9:09
I think you're not appreciating the non-referential status of 'weather it'. I wouldn't think 'The rain was not pouring down' too odd, and 'the rain was sheeting/cascading down' are fine, but following it with ';it was drizzling' suggests that 'it' refers to the previous subject. But this 'it' is as non-referential as the 'it' in 'It's too cold to sit around.' A new sentence or a rewrite would be better here. / WS2 gives you more natural-sounding alternatives. / 'The rain came down sheeting' is unacceptable.' — Edwin Ashworth, Commented Aug 15, 2017 at 9:35
@EdwinAshworth: I was trying to use "pouring" and "drizzling" to describe the intensity of the rain, so "it" refers to rain for both instances. Thanks. — claymore, Commented Aug 15, 2017 at 10:32
No; that's too loose. In 'It was raining on Friday', 'It' has no referent. The word is purely structural, not lexical. In 'The rain was heavier on Thursday than it was on Friday', 'it' has the referent (here, given as an antecedent) rain. — Edwin Ashworth, Commented Aug 15, 2017 at 10:37

Faradin · Accepted Answer · 2017-08-15 10:20:27Z

0

you could also say "the rain didn't come in a downpour, rather a drizzle".

answered Aug 15, 2017 at 10:20

Faradin

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