INSTITUTO MÉDIO TÉCNICO DE GESTÃO DO KIKOLO

TEMA:

ADVERBS OF PLACE

Name: Eulina Tomás Maiutuquila

N.º 22

Class - AGM

Grada – 11º

Teacher

Nelson Domingos Marques

Adverbs of Place - Explore Meaning, Definition, Usage and Examples
In the English language, adverbs are generally used to provide more information about
the action taking place in a context. In this article, we will look at how adverbs of place
work. Check out the meaning, definition and examples given in the article to understand
better.

Table of Contents

 What Is an Adverb of Place?

 Examples of Adverbs of Place
 List of Adverbs of Place
 Test Your Understanding of Adverbs of Place
 Frequently Asked Questions on Adverbs of Place in English

What Is an Adverb of Place?

Adverbs that are employed in a sentence to describe the location or the place where an
action is taking place are called adverbs of place. They answer the question ‘where’.
They are mostly found after the main verb or the object in a sentence. They can also
refer to distances or the movement of an object in a particular direction.

Examples of Adverbs of Place

Given below are examples of how adverbs of place can be used to depict the location of
the action in a sentence.

 The boy was asked to keep the cups here.

 Are you going out today?
 Will you be leaving the chair outside?
 We went northwards after reaching the foot of the hill.
 The little girl ran towards her mother the moment she saw her.

List of Adverbs of Place

Take a look at the following list of adverbs of place and try using them in sentences of
your own.
 Examples of Adverbs of Place

Somewhere Here There

Everywhere Nowhere Northwards

Eastwards Southwards Westwards

Backwards Towards Forward

Nearby Miles apart Up

Down Away Around

Out In Below

Behind North Southeast

Northeast West East

Homeward Someplace Abroad

Upstairs Downstairs Anywhere

Test Your Understanding of Adverbs of Place

Fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate adverbs of place from the list given
below:

(anywhere, north, underneath, somewhere, in, here, nearby, out, there, homewards)

1. Can we please go ___________ to clear our minds?

2. It is raining _________.

3. She has been working _________ for seven years now.

4. Do you live _________?

5. They headed _____________ after the event.

6. Can you please keep the door open when you come ______?

7. After keeping our luggage in our third floor room, we went _______ to the hotel
lounge.

8. I am thinking about going _________ to explore the mountain country.

9. I don’t think you are allowed to park __________ you like.

10. Darwin loves to go ________ on a full moon night.

Check if you answered all the questions correctly with the help of the answers given
below.

1. Can we please go somewhere to clear our minds?

2. It is raining here.

3. She has been working there for seven years now.

4. Do you live nearby?

5. They headed homewards after the event.

6. Can you please keep the door open when you come in?

7. After keeping our luggage in our third floor room, we went downstairs to the hotel
lounge.

8. I am thinking about going north to explore the mountain country.

9. I don’t think you are allowed to park anywhere you like.

10. Darwin loves to go out on a full moon night.

Frequently Asked Questions on Adverbs of Place in English

Q1

What is an adverb of place?

Adverbs that are employed in a sentence to describe the location or the place where an
action is taking place are called adverbs of place. They answer the question ‘where’.
Q2

Where can we place an adverb of place in a sentence, and what do they indicate?

Adverbs of place are mostly found after the main verb or the object in a sentence. They
refer to the location, the distance or the movement of an object in a particular direction.
Q3

Give some examples of adverbs of place.

Given below are some examples of adverbs of place used in sentences.

 The boy was asked to keep the cups here.

 Are you going out today?
 Will you be leaving the chair outside?
 We went northwards after reaching the foot of the hill.
 The little girl ran towards her mother the moment she saw her.

Adverbs of place
Adverbs of place indicate where an action occurs. The main adverbs of place are:

Common adverbs of place

The most common adverbs of place are ‘here’ and ‘there’. We use ‘here’ when the
position is near the speaker, and ‘there’ when the position is further away. These two
words can go at the beginning or at the end of a phrase. For example:

Mr. Jones, your nine o’clock appointment is here.

Where’s my pen? Ah, here it is!
The documents are here.
I’ll sit here, and you can sit there.
There’s my coat, on the back of the chair.
The socket is there, under the window.
Movement
Many adverbs come after a verb to express a particular kind of movement. For example:

I can hear the children running around upstairs.

Fiona is moving away next year. She’s going to Australia.
We need to climb over this gate to get in.
The salespeople are just coming into the building now.
He’s getting off the train.
The builder is coming down the ladder.
Direction
Some adverbs help us show the direction of a movement. Again, these normally go after
the verb. For example:

Be careful – the car is going backwards!

The plane is turning east towards the capital.
All of us looked upwards as the helicopter flew by.
We need to head west to get to the exit of the park.
Unspecified locations
We use the adverbs somewhere, everywhere, anywhere, and nowhere to refer to
unspecified places. For example:
We want to go somewhere hot this summer.
Look outside – there’s snow everywhere!
Do you know anywhere that sells stamps near here?
The cupboard is so full that there’s nowhere to put anything.
So, now you’ve seen the adverbs of place, you’re ready to use them yourself! Start by
practicing them by reading and listening when you can. This will help reinforce your
understanding of the different meanings and positions of these adverbs.

hat Are Adverbs of Place?

Adverbs of place (also called spatial adverbs) modify a verb to tell us where an action
takes place. They provide information about the location or position of something.

Adverbs of place modify the verb in a sentence and provide information about location.
They do not modify adjectives or other adverbs.

I've never lived abroad before.

Come here for a minute.
I've lived in France my whole life.
Interrogative Adverbs of Place
Here is a list of the interrogative adverbs of place:

 Where
 Wherever
 Wheresoever
 Whence
 Whereabouts
 Wherein
 Whereto

Whence does the Parliament derive this power?

Whereabouts do you live?
Wherein lies the difference between conservatism and liberalism?
Adverbs of Place: Placement
An adverb of place is usually placed after an intransitive main verb or after the object of
a transitive verb. Usually, they appear at the end of a clause.

He walked towards me. (after the main verb)

Please put the book here. (after the object)
To be more formal you can use adverbs that end in '-ward' or '-wards' to emphasize the
formal style.

I'm glad that they are homeward bound.

Please step forward.
In formal style, you can use adverbial prepositional phrases at the beginning of a
sentence to emphasize the location being described. For example:

Behind the bench, we sat and he let me cry.

Under the willow tree, he first met her.
The adverbs 'here' and 'there' are normally used at the beginning of a sentence to put
emphasis on the location or direction of the place being described. For example:

Here, we have a beautiful artefact from 1939.

There, at the middle of the woods, a wolf awaited his prey.
Adverbs of Place: Structure
While most adverbs of place are technically prepositional phrases that function as
adverbials of place, some adverbs of place are flat adverbs (also called simple adverbs or
bare adverbs) that consist of only one word, such as 'here', 'there', 'upstairs', 'downstairs',
and so on.

I went upstairs and took a shower.

A flat adverb
He was standing by the stairs.
A prepositional phrase functioning as adverb
Adverbs of Place as Prepositions
Many adverbs of place can also be used as prepositions. When used as prepositions,
they must be followed by a noun. For example:

He put his hand into his pocket.

We walked slowly up the hill.
Adverbs of Place: Uses
Adverbs of place are used to describe location, direction, and distance.

Location
We can use adverbs of place to talk about the position of someone or something. For
example:

My mother is cooking in the kitchen.

Let's go play outside.

using an adverb of place in a sentence

Direction
Adverbs of place can be used to describe direction, indicating which way someone or
something is moving or pointing. For example:

She waved as she drove past.

They always go abroad for their holidays.
Tip
'Toward' and 'towards' are both adverbs used to indicate that something is moving or
pointing in the direction of something else. The only difference between them is the letter
's'. In the United States and Canada, 'toward' is more commonly used, while in other
English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, 'towards' is more prevalent.

He stood up and walked towards his daughter.

His glance kept going toward the phone.
Distance
Adverbs of place can also be used to show the distance or proximity of something, that
is, how far or how close something is. For example:

She turned away and looked the other way.

He ran away from home.
Adverbs of Place: Suffix -wards
Adverbs of place ending in the suffix -wards show movement towards a particular
direction or place. For example:

They embarked on a homeward journey.

The leaves fell from branches in a downward movement.
Adverbs of Place: Suffix -where
Adverbs of place which end in the suffix -where indicate an indefinite location rather
than a specific one. For example:

It's got to be around here somewhere.

She's looked everywhere but still couldn't find her keys.
Here and There
'Here' and 'there' are two of the most common adverbs of place, indicating a location that
is relevant to the speaker rather than another subject or object in the sentence. 'Here'
expresses a place that is near or with the speaker, while 'there' indicates a location that
is away from or not with the speaker. pay attention to the examples:

Come on. I'm over here.

Australia? I've always wanted to go there.
Sometimes 'here' and 'there' are placed at the beginning of the sentence
in exclamations for emphasis. For example:

Here comes the bride!

There goes the plane!
Adverbial and Dummy 'There'
'There' as a 'dummy pronoun' is usually followed by a verb and does not give further
information about something. On the contrary, 'adverbial' 'there' can be added to
a pronoun and is used as an adverb of place to indicate the location of an action or event.
It tells us where something is happening in a sentence. Take a look at the examples:

There he is.
Here, 'there' is adverbial because it is added to a pronoun.
She is there.
Adverbial
There are many small rooms in this hotel.
Here, 'there' is a dummy pronoun because it is followed by a verb.
Adverbs as Subject Complements
Some adverbs, particularly adverbs of place, can be used as predicative subject
complements in a sentence. For example:

Our seat is there.

Here is where the trouble starts.
Review
Adverbs of place as their name requires are used to refer to a place let us take a look at
their uses:

 to talk about the position (location)

 to talk about direction
 to talk about distance

ADVERBS OF PLACE

Rule
Adverbs of place tell us where something happens.
They are usually placed after the main verb or after the object:
After the main verb:

Examples

 I looked everywhere
 John looked away, up, down, around...
 I'm going home, out, back
 Come in

After the object:

Examples

 They built a house nearby

 She took the child outside

They sometimes go in front position, especially in writing.

 Here she sat.

 Outside, there was a small pond.

'Here' and 'there'

With verbs of movement, here means towards or with the speaker:

 Come here (= towards me)

 It's in here (= come with me to see it)

There means away from, or not with the speaker:

 Put it there (= away from me)

 It's in there (= go by yourself to see it)

Here and there are combined with prepositions to make many common adverbial phrases.

Examples

 What are you doing up there?

 Come over here and look at what I found!
 The baby is hiding down there under the table.
 I wonder how my driver's license got stuck under here.

Here and there are placed at the beginning of the sentence in exclamations or when
emphasis is needed.
They are followed by the verb if the subject is a noun:

 Here comes the bus. (followed by the verb)

 There goes the bell!

Or by a pronoun if this is the subject (it, she, he etc.):

 Here it is! (followed by the pronoun)

 There she goes! (followed by the pronoun)

Adverbs of place that are also prepositions

Many adverbs of place can also be used as prepositions. When used as prepositions, they
must be followed by a noun.

Used as an adverb of place, modifying

Word Used as a preposition
a verb
I am wearing a necklace around my
aroundThe marble rolled around in my hand.
neck.
behind Hurry! You are getting behind. Let's hide behind the shed.
John made his way carefully down the
down Mary fell down.
cliff.
in We decided to drop in on Jake. I dropped the letter in the mailbox.
 Used as an adverb of place, modifying
Word Used as a preposition
a verb
The wind blew the flowers off the
off Let's get off at the next stop.
tree.
on We rode on for several more hours. Please put the books on the table.
I think I will hang the picture over my
over He turned over and went back to sleep.
bed.

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.

 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.
 I keep running in to Sally everywhere!

1. Nowhere
Nowhere refers to something or someone as not being in any place.
This can be used both as an adverb and as a noun.

 I have nowhere to sit! (There is no place for me to sit.)

 There is nowhere to see a movie in John's town. (There are no places to see a movie
in John's town.)

As a noun, nowhere means no place, or a place that is boring and where very few people
live:

 They live in the middle of nowhere. (They live far away from other places.)
 My keys are nowhere to be found. (My keys are not in any place where I can find
them.)
 His car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. (His car breaks down in a place with
nothing useful or interesting around.)

2. Everywhere
Everywhere is used to talk about being in or going to all places, rather than no place or
some place, which is always only a single place.

 There are birds everywhere, not just in South America. (There are birds in many parts
of the world and not only in South America.)
 I bring a water bottle with me everywhere I go. (I bring a water bottle with me to all
of the places that I go.)
 There is construction everywhere in the city right now. (There is a lot of construction
going on in the city right now.)

3. Somewhere
Somewhere as an adverb is used to talk about someone or something being in or going to
some specific place.

 We need to stop somewhere to use the bathroom soon. (We need to stop at an
unidentified place with a bathroom that we can use.)
 They are going somewhere for vacation, but I do not know where. (They are going
to a place that I do not remember the name of for vacation.)

It can also mean close to an amount or number. You can say "somewhere between" or
"somewhere around".

 She left somewhere around 5 pm.

 It costs somewhere between ten and twenty dollars.

4. Anywhere
It means going to or being in any place (not specific place), when it does not matter
where.

 I could live anywhere. (It doesn't matter where I live, and all places are possible.)
 Brad and Lisa do not have anywhere to park a car, so they do not own one. (Brad and
Lisa do not have a place to put a car, so they do not own one.)


Anywhere can also be used like somewhere to describe a range and show its limits. It is
usually followed by the word "from" or "between" in this case.

 This task can take anywhere from/between three to five hours to complete.
 There are anywhere from 20 to 100 people at the restaurant for dinner every night.
(The amount of people at the restaurant for dinner varies between 20 and 100.)


Adverbs of place ending in -wards

Other adverbs of place: ending in '-wards', expressing movement in a particular direction:
backwards northwards
forwards southwards
downwardseastwards
upwards westwards
inwards homewards
outwards onwards

Examples
 Cats don't usually walk backwards.
 The ship sailed westwards.

BE CAREFUL! 'Towards' is a preposition, not an adverb, so it is always followed by

a noun or a pronoun:

 He walked towards the car.

 She ran towards me.

Adverbs of place expressing both movement & location

ahead, abroad, overseas, uphill, downhill, sideways, indoors, outdoors

Examples

 The child went indoors.

 He lived and worked abroad.