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Prepositions of place, direction, movement

 family famille garden

 

 

The family is sitting on a bench in the garden.

 

Grandpa is on the left and mum and dad are at the back. Grandma is in the middle, between the children. The dog is on the right.


These prepositions give us information about where something is located. The following tables give some guidelines and examples but note that you may hear some variations depending on sentence structure, context and regional variations.


 

Uses

Examples

 

in

 

An enclosed space

 

Towns, cities, states, countries, continents etc.

 

Other large areas

 

 

Roads

 

 

Pictures and documents

 

 

 

Some (smaller) forms of transport

 

 

in a box, a bag, a room, a cupboard, a cup

 

in Birmingham, Kent, California, Japan, Asia

 

 

in the countryside, a neighbourhood, a district, a park, a car park, a garden, the world

 

in a street, a road, an avenue, the High Street,

Bingley Road [UK]

 

in a picture, a photo, a painting, a report, an email, a contract, a newspaper, a magazine

 

in a car, a taxi, a helicopter, an open boat

 

on

 

 

 

 

A surface - horizontal or vertical

 

 

 

 

Transport and travel

 

 

 

Some locations

 

on the table, the wall, a shelf, a screen

on page 2, the front cover of the book, the menu

on a plate, a face, a head

 

on a bus, train, a boat, a ship, a bike, skis, a flight, a trip, a journey, a picnic, a bike ride, a break, holiday

 

on the left, the right, the side, the coast, the beach, the 2nd floor

on an island, a farm, a college campus

on a road/street/avenue etc. [mainly US]

on a motorway, the High Street, Oxford Street [i.e. main roads]

 

 

on (the) top of

 

At the highest point of something tall or high

 

 

on top of a cupboard, wardrobe, a hill, a mountain

 

at

 

 

Some locations that are buildings

 

Some other locations

 

A point on a journey

 

 

An address

 

Positions  

 

 

at the cinema, the theatre, the pub, a restaurant, work, home, school, university

 

at the beach, the lake

 

at a junction, traffic lights, a corner, a bus stop

 

at 88 Bingley Road, 10 Downing Street

 

at the back, the front, the top, the bottom, the end

 


Sometimes there is more than one possibility depending on the context. For example:


            The children are playing on the beach. [They are on the sand.]

            The children are at the beach. [on the sand or in the area nearby.]

           

There's a chemist on the corner. [permanent position]

Let's meet at the corner. [a point on a journey]

 

            It was very hot in the theatre/office/museum. [emphasis on 'inside']

            I was at the theatre/office/museum when you called. [general location]

 

            I'll meet you in the restaurant. [inside]

            I'll meet you at the restaurant. [inside or outside]

 

            I'm in the office. [inside the office]

I'm at the office. [at work generally - in an office or the canteen, a meeting room etc.]        

           

            He's in the water. [swimmimg]

            He's on the water. [in a boat]

 

            I'm sitting at my desk. [on a chair]

            My computer is on my desk.

 

            The Eurostar stops at Ebbsfleet and Ashford and arrives in Lille at 9.30. [or 'at Lille (station)']


 

Uses

Examples

 

above

 

 

Higher than

 

  

 

 

Our plane is now above the clouds.

 

Let's put the shelf on this wall above the TV.

 

 

below

 

 

Lower than

 

 

 

 

When we looked out of the plane, the people below us seemed really small.

 

She had a cut on her leg, below the knee.

 

over 

 

 

Higher than

 

Our plane is now over the clouds.

 

Let's put the shelf on this wall over the TV.

 

 

under underneath beneath

 

 

Directly below

 

The cat's under the table.

 

The tunnel's beneath the road.

 

There's a cellar underneath the kitchen.

 

 

 

opposite

 

 

On the other side of something

 

I sat opposite James at the meeting.

 

The bank is opposite the station.

 

 

across 

 

On the other side of something

 

Where is the bank? It's across the road.

 

She sits across the room (from me.)

 

inside

 

 

An enclosed space  [similar to 'in' but it can emphasise a contrast with 'outside']

 

 

I'll meet you inside the hotel because it's raining.

 

Prices are lower if you sit inside the restaurant rather than on the terrace.

 

 

outside 

 

 

Not in an enclosed space but near to it

 

 

They're waiting for us outside the conference room.

 

The smoking area is just outside my office.

 

near

 

 

A short distance from

 

"Is the hotel near the station?"

"Yes, it's just a 5-minute walk away."

 

We live near the sea. [up to a few km away]

 

up   

down

 

 

Along or further along a road, river etc.

 

I live up/down this street. [from the current location]

 

We're staying in a hotel up/down the beach from here.

 

Note that in the examples above, 'up' or 'down' can be used with no difference in meaning.

 

 

next to 

beside 

alongside

by

 

 

 

Adjacent to, at the side of [closer than near]

 

 

We live next to the sea. [a few metres away - we can see it]

 

Let's put the chair beside the window.

                 

I parked my car alongside yours.

 

Come and sit by me.

 

 

behind

 

 

At the back of

 

The car park is behind the shopping centre.

 

 

in front of 

 

 

Just ahead of or close to the front part of something

 

The shopping centre is in front of the car park.

 

There's a statue in front of the fountain.

 

 

around

round [mainly UK] 

 

1. On every side or in a circular way.

 

 

 

2. Just past a corner, after turning it

 

3. 'Near', in this area.

 

They sat around/round a table.

 

There are lots of restaurants around/round the square.

 

Where's the station; is it far?

No, it's around/round the next corner.

 

Is there a station around/round here?

 

 

among

amongst [mainly UK]

 

 

 

In a group or surrounded by other people or things

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I sat among/amongst some Swedish people at the seminar.

 

We found an important document among some old files.

 

 

between 

 

 

 

 

Having something on each side

 

The bank is between a supermarket and a book shop.

 

My desk is between Harry's and Marie's.

 

 

beyond 

 


 

 

On the other side of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The river is beyond those trees.

 

 

within 

 

 

1. Inside an enclosed space or area

 

2. Not further than

 

 

With both meanings, there is a suggestion of a boundary.

 

 

The total number of offices within the building is thirty.

 

There are several gardens and cafés within the castle grounds.

 

There are lots of different shops within 2 miles of my house.

 

 

from

 

 

A point of origin

 

He lives in London now but he's from the north of England.

 

 

aboard 

 

 

On some vehicles

 

There are 210 passengers aboard this train.

 

On our holiday, we spent three days aboard a boat.

 

 

against 

 

 

'next to' and close enough to be in contact

 

The cupboard is against the wall.

 

He's allergic to cotton and can't have it against his skin.

 


These are often confused. Sometimes, we can distinguish between them simply by considering the following examples:

 

            There was a man in front of me on the bus. [I could see the back of his head.]

            There was a man opposite me at the meeting. [I could see his face.]

 

However, we use 'in front of' when talking about objects with 'screens':

 

She spends too much time in front of the mirror/tv/computer.

 

This is because we usually use 'in front of' when there is little or no space between things and 'opposite' when there is a greater distance:

 

              street house houses lamps pavement   

 

 

 

 

There's one street lamp in front of my house and another one opposite my house.

 

 


Prepositions of place indicate where something is and others tell us about movement from one place to another.

 

He's at work. [place]

He's going to work. green check mark, tick mark [movement] 

 

Some prepositions can perform both functions:

 

            The bank is across the road. [place]

            We walked across the road. [movement]

 

Here are some more examples:

 

 

Uses

Examples

 

onto

[also 'on to']

 

Resulting in being 'on'

 

They got onto the train. 

We loaded the goods onto the truck.

 

 

over

 

To go higher than

To cross something

 

We flew over the mountain.

We went over the river/the road/the bridge.

 

 

across

 

With a verb like 'go' to mean 'to cross'

 

We went across the river/the road/the bridge.

We walked across the square to get to the cathedral.

 

 

into

 

Resulting in being  'in'

 

 

Resulting in being in direct contact with something

 

 

They got into the car.

Put the files into that cabinet, please.

 

He wasn't concentrating and he walked into the door.

 

out of

 

 

Resulting in being 'out'

 

They got out of the car.

He threw it out of the window.

 

 

inside

 

Resulting in being in an enclosed space

 

Go inside the station and wait for me there; I won't be long.

 

 

outside

 

Resulting in being not 'in' but 'near' an enclosed space

 

He went outside the building to smoke.

 

 

through

 

Moving into one side and out of another

 

Moving around in or from one side to another

 

 

You need to go through this door and through two offices to get to the canteen.

 

We walked through the park/forest/market.

 

 

up

 

From a lower to a higher part of something

 

To go further

 

We walked up the hill and found a nice café.

 

 

We went up the street/road/river/beach.

 

 

down

 

From a lower to a higher part of something

 

To go further

 

The children ran down the hill/the stairs.

 

 

We went down the street/road/river/beach.

 

 

around

round [mostly UK]

 

To go to several places in an area

 

To go in an approximately circular direction

 

He travels around the world with his job.

 

 

Go round the next corner and you'll see the post office.

 

 

 

along

 

To move in a constant direction

 

We drove along the motorway for 40 miles.

I love walking along the beach at night.

 

 

past

 

To go further than something

 

 

You need to go past the bank and turn left.

 

 

from

 

Beginning a journey

 

 

 

We're coming from Heathrow.

I get home from work at 7.00.

 

 

to

 

 

Reaching a destination

 

 

 

Note that with the verb 'to arrive', we use 'at' or 'in':

 

 

They're getting a taxi to the airport and flying to Barcelona.

I go to bed at 11.00.

 

We arrived at the party/airport or in London/England etc.

 

 

towards [UK]

toward [US]

 

To go in the direction of [might not be destination]

 

Drive towards the town centre and turn left at the next traffic lights.

 

 

off  

 

To move down or away from

 

Get your feet off the table.

The dog fell off the bed.

 

 

via

 

To travel to on the way to somewhere else

 

They flew to Australia via India.

 

 

 

aboard

 

To board some vehicles

 

We climbed aboard the boat/plane/helicopter/London Eye.

 

 

against

 

In the opposite direction

 

Driving into London at night is easy because it's against the commuter traffic.

 

 


We often use 'in' and 'on' instead of 'into' and 'onto' to indicate movement. It can depend on the verb. For example, both can be used with 'get':

 

            We got on/onto the train.

            We got in/into the car.

 

With 'put', we are more likely to use 'in' and 'on':

 

            I put my keys in my bag/on the table.

 

With 'go', 'walk', 'step' or 'jump', we use 'into' or 'onto':

 

            He went into the boardroom 5 minutes ago.

She stepped onto the platform.

The cat jumped onto the table.

 

Sometimes, they are not interchangeable but have different meanings. For example:

 

            We cycle in the village. [We cycle when we are in the village.]

            We cycle into the village. [We cycle when we go to the village from another location.]

 


As adverbs, these can be used alone to mean 'here' or 'not here':

 

            "Can I speak to Jack, please?"

            "Sorry, he's not in today. Can I take a message?" [not at work]

 

            I'm the only person at home today. Everyone else is out. [not at home]

 

            We're going out later, maybe to the cinema; we're not sure yet.

 

            I didn't hear you come in last night; what time was it?


We use prepositions of place and movement when giving directions. Here are some examples:

 

Drive past the church and take the first turning on the left. Go along this road for two miles and stop at the traffic lights. Go over the bridge and through a tunnel. Turn right when you come to a big shopping centre. Go round the roundabout and take the 3rd exit. Drive towards the town centre and park near the cathedral. Walk across the square and you'll find the tourist office on the corner next to a patisserie. I'll meet you there.


Some prepositions of place and movement also function as adverbs.

 

For more information, see Adverbs of time and place and if in doubt, check in a good dictionary.

Also see Prepositions with expressions.