adverbials of place
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.
- You’ll find it in the cupboard.
- Sign your name here – at the bottom of the page.
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 it’s 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.
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Comments
Hello! I didn't understand why in the first question the answer is direction and not location, Germany isn't supposed to be a place?
Thanks :)
Thankz so much....i cherish this site
Thank you for this site.It helps me a lot.I can understand more about grammar.
Don't you think the second sentence in the exercise is incorrect?? The sentence "put bottles in the recycling bin" describes a movement, doesn' it?
team
Hello,
You are right that the sentence in question 2 describes movement, but the key is what the adverbial is talking about. In that sentence, 'in' is being used to describe the location where the bottles should go, not the direction they are moved in.
I hope that helps.
Best wishes,
Adam
The LearnEnglish Team
well i'm amazed by my skill
team
Hi Josef Kraus
It's great that you like the site. I'm an English teacher but I'm not a grammar specialist. I'll try to answer your questions.
Firstly you asked about between and among.
I use the word 'between' to describe an objects place in relation to two objects and 'among', in relation to more than two objects.
The bank is between the cinema and the book shop.
The old windmill stands among the trees.
This is an over simplified description so think of it as a guide rather than a rule. I think that the word among is more commonly used in a more general sense and is quite rarely used as an adverbial of place.
As far as I'm concerned, besides and next to as adverbials of place mean the same thing.
Near and by are very close in meaning. I'm not certain but I think that by indicates that something is closer than near does but that might just be me.
If I tell someone - 'I live by the lake,' I would expect them to be able to find my house if they know where the lake is. However, if I tell them 'I live near the lake,' they might need further instructions.
I think that underneath and beneath both mean directly lower than you and below simply means lower.
Consider the following:
When you are in a hot air below, you have nothing but air beneath you. The ground is far below.
I hope this helps.
I'm not a specialist and so I may be wrong about these words. If anyone disagrees with the way I have described these words, please leave a comment.
Thanks
Jack Radford
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you for a very good site dedicated to English grammar. I only miss a closer look at adverbials of place. E.g. What is the difference between (or among?) 'next to / beside / near / by'? And how do 'under / underneath / beneath / below' differ?