Adverbs 4 – Adverbs of place

1. Introduction

The adverbs of place tell us where something is going on. Place adverbs are usually placed after the main verb or after the clause they modify. Adverbs of place do not modify adjectives or other adverbs. Some examples of place adverbs: here, everywhere, outside, far, around

Examples

• Come here and tell me what happened.
• The dog is waiting there.
• Let us put the china wares in the cupboard.
• The kid is hiding behind you.
• Teapot is inside the kitchen drawer.
• She took the child outside.

2. Here and There

Here and there are common adverbs of place. They give a location relative to the speaker. With movement verbs, here means “to or with the speaker” and it means “distant or not from the speaker”.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Confusion between Adverbs of Place and Prepositions

Place adverbs such as on, off, over, down, back, in, etc. can also be used as prepositions. Prepositions are words that show the relationship between subjects and objects in sentences while adverbs