Verbs of movement: she ran in, etc

When we want to talk about a movement, its direction and its nature, there are several possibilities.

We can use three separate words for the three ideas:

• She came in running.

We can use a verb which includes the idea of direction, and describe the nature of the movement separately:

• She entered running.

Or we can use a verb which makes clear the nature of the movement, and describe the direction separately:

• She ran in.

In English, the third of these solutions is the most common.

• I walked back. (More natural than I went back walking.)
• She danced across the garden. (More natural than She crossed the garden dancing.)
• I jumped down the stairs. (More natural than I came down the stairs jumping.)
• They crawled out of the cellar.
• The eagle flew away.