How do we roll a ball along a street from A to B?


This question is a follow up to [この道をまっすぐ行ってください。Why “を” and not
“で”?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/6869) posted earlier.

If:

> 道で転ぶ = fallover on the road
>
> ボールが道を転がる = a ball rolled along the street
>
> 〜を転がす = roll something (他）

How do we say:

> "I rolled a ball along the street from the police station to the second
> traffic lights?"

Is it:

> 道沿い／道に沿って交番から二番目の信号までボールを転がした

？

[I want to capture the movement along the direction of the street and we can't
have two をs. I have only just remembered the expression に沿う]




> "I rolled a ball along the street from the police station to the second
> traffic lights?"

Let's make it clear that `along` is a preposition(前置詞) in this sentence, not
an adverb(副詞).

> "rolling along the street (道を転がる）"

`rolling along the street` would be better translated as 「道に沿って転がる」 rather
than 「道を転がる」. 「道を転がる」 is a shorter version of 「道の上を転がる」. So it means "rolling
onto the street".

And with this phrase, the subject is a thing that actually rolls by itself
such as a ball. (e.g. The ball rolled along the street.) On the other hand,
the subject of 「ボールを転がす」 is not a ball but a person or a kind of force that
rolls the ball. (e.g. The wind/I rolled the ball.)

「転がる」 and 「転がす」 are different kind of verbs. The former is an intransitive
verb(自動詞) which does not require an object(目的語). On the other hand, the latter
is a transitive verb(他動詞) and requires an object(目的語).

So "道をボールを転がす", which sounds really odd to the natives, appears that
"ボールが道の上を転がる" and "私がボールを転がす" are said at once in one clause of a sentence.




> "I rolled a ball along the street from the police station to the second
> traffic lights?"

Let's make it clear that `along` is a preposition(前置詞) in this sentence, not
an adverb(副詞).

> "rolling along the street (道を転がる）"

`rolling along the street` would be better translated as 「道に沿って転がる」 rather
than 「道を転がる」. 「道を転がる」 is a shorter version of 「道の上を転がる」. So it means "rolling
onto the street".

And with this phrase, the subject is a thing that actually rolls by itself
such as a ball. (e.g. The ball rolled along the street.) On the other hand,
the subject of 「ボールを転がす」 is not a ball but a person or a kind of force that
rolls the ball. (e.g. The wind/I rolled the ball.)

「転がる」 and 「転がす」 are different kind of verbs. The former is an intransitive
verb(自動詞) which does not require an object(目的語). On the other hand, the latter
is a transitive verb(他動詞) and requires an object(目的語).

So "道をボールを転がす", which sounds really odd to the natives, appears that
"ボールが道の上を転がる" and "私がボールを転がす" are said at once in one clause of a sentence.

