We use adverbials of place to describe:

Location
We use prepositions to talk about where someone or something is.
Examples:

He was standing by the table.

Youll find it in the cupboard.
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Direction
We use adverbials to to talk about the direction where someone or something is moving.
Examples:

Walk past the bank and keep going to the end of the street.
The car door is very small so its difficult to get into.
Distance
We use adverbials to show how far things are:
Examples:

Birmingham is 250 kilometres from London.

We were in London. Birmingham was 250 kilometres away.

Adverbs of Place
What is an adverb of place?
Adverbs that change or qualify the meaning of a sentence by telling us where things happen
are defined as adverbs of place. Some instructors refer to these words or phrases as spatial
adverbs. No matter what they are called, these adverbs always answer one important
question: Where?
These simple rules for adverbs of place will help you to use them the right way:

An adverb of place always talks about the location where the action of the verb is
being carried out.

Adverbs of place are normally placed after a sentences object or main verb.
Adverbs of place can be directional. For example: Up, down, around, away, north,
southeast

Adverbs of place can refer to distances. For example: Nearby, far away, miles apart

An adverb of place can indicate an objects position in relation to another object. For
example: Below, between, above, behind, through, around and so forth.

Many adverbs of place indicate movement in a particular direction and end in the
letters -ward or -wards. For example: Toward, forward, backward, homeward, westward,
eastwards onwards
Examples of Adverbs of Place
Each sentence contains an example of an adverb of place; the examples are italicized for
easy identification. As you read these examples, you will notice that some of the adverbs of
place contain more than one word.
Put the cake there.
After a long day at work, we headed homewards.
Please bring that book here.
My grandfathers house is nearby.

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.
1.

Close the door when you go ___________.

1.

Out

2.

Westward

3.

Lightly

4.

Here

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

1.

The cat is hiding _______________ the couch.

1.

On

2.

Underneath

3.

Somewhere

4.

There

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

1.

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

1.

Round

2.

Home

3.

Outside

4.

Around

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

1.

The ship sailed ________________, encountering heavy weather along the way.
1.

Up

2.

Down

3.

Northwards

4.

Backwards

Answer: C. The ship sailed northwards, encountering heavy weather along the way.
1.

When she saw me waiting, she ran __________________ me.

1.

Around

2.

Towards

3.

Through

4.

Forward

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

Adverbs of Place List

As you read through the examples this adverbs of place list contains, think about how they
denote location or movement. With some consideration, you are likely to come up with
some additional terms on your own.
Abroad
Across
Ahead
Back
Backwards
Beyond
Down
Downwards
Eastwards
Everywhere
Here
In

Indoors
Inside
Outside
Overseas
There
West
Yonder

Adverbs of Place
Make sentences and put the adverbs (in italic print) in correctly (behind the verb or object).

1.

is / over there / the cinema - The cinema is over there.

2.

inside / go / let's - Let's go inside.

3.

the kitchen / downstairs / is - The kitchen is downstairs.

4.

playing / the kids / are / outside - The kids are playing outside.

5.

she / not / been / here / has - She has not been here.

6.

the bathroom / is / upstairs - The bathroom is upstairs.

7.

were / everywhere / we / for / looking / you - We were looking for you everywhere.

8.

we / anywhere / you / find / couldn't - We couldn't find you anywhere.

9.

? / there / a post office / nearby / is - Is there a post office nearby?

10.

must / we / walk / back home - We must walk back home.