Adverbs of place - English Grammar Lessons Guide

 Adverbs of place - English Grammar Lessons Guide

Adverbs of place tell us where something happens. Adverbs of place are usually placed after the main verb or after the clause that they modify. Adverbs of place do not modify adjectives or other adverbs. Some examples of adverbs of place: here, everywhere, outside, away, around

Adverbs of place - English Grammar Lessons Guide

Examples

John looked around but he couldn't see the monkey.

I searched everywhere I could think of.

I'm going back to school.

Come in!

They built a house nearby.

She took the child outside.

Here and there

Here and there are common adverbs of place. They give a location relative to the speaker. With verbs of movement, here means "towards or with the speaker" and there means "away from, or not with the speaker".

Sentence - Meaning

Come here! - Come towards me.

The table is in here. - Come with me; we will go see it together.

Put it there. - Put it in a place away from me.

The table is in there. - Go in; you can see it by yourself.

Here and there are combined with prepositions to make many common adverbial phrases.

Examples

What are you doing up there?

Come over here and look at what I found!

The baby is hiding down there under the table.

I wonder how my driver's license got stuck under here.

Here and there are placed at the beginning of the sentence in exclamations or when emphasis is needed. They are followed by the verb if the subject is a noun or by a pronoun if the subject is a pronoun.

Examples

Here comes the bus!

There goes the bell!

There it is!

Here they are!

Adverbs of place that are also prepositions

Many adverbs of place can also be used as prepositions. When used as prepositions, they must be followed by a noun.

Adverbs of place ending in -where

Adverbs of place that end in -where express the idea of location without specifying a specific location or direction.

Examples

I would like to go somewhere warm for my vacation.

Is there anywhere I can find a perfect plate of spaghetti around here?

I have nowhere to go.

I keep running in to Sally everywhere!

Adverbs of place ending in -wards

Adverbs of place that end in -wards express movement in a particular direction.

Examples

Cats don't usually walk backwards.

The ship sailed westwards.

The balloon drifted upwards.

We will keep walking homewards until we arrive.

Be careful: Towards is a preposition, not an adverb, so it is always followed by a noun or a pronoun.

Examples

He walked towards the car.

She ran towards me.

Adverbs of place expressing both movement & location

Some adverbs of place express both movement & location at the same time.

Examples

The child went indoors.

He lived and worked abroad.

Water always flows downhill.

The wind pushed us sideways.

Adverbs of Place Exercises

The following exercises will help you to gain better understanding about how adverbs of place work. Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

Close the door when you go ___________.

Out

Westward

Lightly

Here

Answer: A. Close the door when you go out.

The cat is hiding ­­­­­­­­­­­­­_______________ the couch.

On

Underneath

Somewhere

There

Answer: B. The cat is hiding underneath the couch.

Will you be starting your plants ________________ or in a greenhouse?

Round

Home

Outside

Around

Answer: C. Will you be starting your plants outside or in a greenhouse?

The ship sailed ________________, encountering heavy weather along the way.

Up

Down

Northwards

Backwards

Answer: C. The ship sailed northwards, encountering heavy weather along the way.

When she saw me waiting, she ran ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________ me.

Around

Towards

Through

Forward

Answer: B. When she saw me waiting, she ran towards me.

Adverbs of Place List

This is an alphabetical list of common single-word place adverbs.

Adverbs of place mainly modify verbs and tell us where something happens.

about

above

abroad

anywhere

away

back

backwards (also backward)

behind

below

down

downstairs

east (etc)

elsewhere

far

here

in

indoors

inside

near

nearby

off

on

out

outside

over

there

towards

under

up

upstairs

where