 |
Essential
ENGLISH
GRAMMAR Prepositions and Adverbs in English |
In
English, relationships of position and direction are often
expressed by means of propesitions or adverbs; but while some words
such as "on" can be used in many situations, others such as "near" are
more limited in their usage.
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Prepositions
and adverbs
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| Denoting position | Denoting direction | ||
| Adverbs | Prepositions | Prepositions | Adverbs |
| at | at, to 1 | ||
| * in, inside, (within) | in, inside, within | into | in, inwards |
| outside | outside | (out), out of 2 | out, outwards |
| (on) | on | on, onto | (on) |
| (far from) | from | ||
| overhead | over, above 3 | over (above) | (overhead) |
| underneath | under, (underneath) | under, (underneath) | |
| below | below | below | |
| up | upwards | ||
| down | downwards | ||
| far from | from | ||
| nearby | near | (nearer) | |
| (alongside) | alongside | along | along |
| in between | between | (between) | |
* Examples:
Since the "in" line offers a full and varied set of adverbs and prepositions , here is a full set or examples for this line:
Footnotes:
Since the "in" line offers a full and varied set of adverbs and prepositions , here is a full set or examples for this line:
Adverbs
of position:
We're staying in tonight. There's someone inside !
Prepositions of position:
I live in London. There are people inside the house. He lives within a mile of the airport.
Prepositions of movement:
Please put all those bits into the box.
Adverbs of movement:
I can't manage to put this nail in. Look, now it's moving inwards.
We're staying in tonight. There's someone inside !
Prepositions of position:
I live in London. There are people inside the house. He lives within a mile of the airport.
Prepositions of movement:
Please put all those bits into the box.
Adverbs of movement:
I can't manage to put this nail in. Look, now it's moving inwards.
Footnotes:
1.
As prepositions of direction, "at" and "to" are not
synonyms. "At" is not common as a preposition of direction, and is only
used with the meaning of "towards" or "in the direction of", and then
only in some contexts. Compare these two sentences.
I threw the ball to John. I threw a cup at John .
You can say "I'm going to London next week",
but it is impossible to say: "I'm going at London next week."
2. In classic English, "out of" is the normal prepositon of direction.
Example: "I went out of the house."
But increasingly, particularly in spoken English, the "of" is being dropped, so you are likely to hear: "I went out the house".
3. There is a small difference between "over" and "above" as prepositions of position. Above means over, but not touching.
So you could say "There are clouds above London",
but it would be strange to say "There is fog above London".
I threw the ball to John. I threw a cup at John .
You can say "I'm going to London next week",
but it is impossible to say: "I'm going at London next week."
2. In classic English, "out of" is the normal prepositon of direction.
Example: "I went out of the house."
But increasingly, particularly in spoken English, the "of" is being dropped, so you are likely to hear: "I went out the house".
3. There is a small difference between "over" and "above" as prepositions of position. Above means over, but not touching.
So you could say "There are clouds above London",
but it would be strange to say "There is fog above London".
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