My house is far away from my workplace. But I live close to a subway station. I take the Toronto subway to work everyday. The Toronto subway runs underground in most parts of the city.
Photo by Tobias on UnsplashFar away, close, and underground help me give more information about where I live and from where I go to work.
Adverbs give more information about verbs. Adverbs of place tell us where an activity happens.
What are Adverbs of Place?
Adverbs of place help you to answer the question: where?
You can give more information about location, distance, or direction of movement with adverbs of place.
Location — where the action is happening.
Some common adverbs of place include: here, there, upstairs, downstairs, outside, inside.
Photo by Compare Fibre on UnsplashExample: Paul is studying upstairs in his room.
Distance — how far from you the action is happening.
Common adverbs include: nearby, close, far away.
Photo by Melissa Askew on UnsplashExample: The market is close by.
Adverbs of direction — in what direction the movement is happening.
Common adverbs include: forward, backward, north, south, left, right, up, down
Photo by Anna Barsukova on UnsplashExample: She moved forward to accept the award.
You can find a great list of common adverbs of place with their meanings and usage at Grammarly.
Quiz
"She searched everywhere for her ring." In this sentence, what information does the adverb "everywhere" provide?
Prepositional Phrases as Adverbs of Place
Sometimes, place prepositions like in, on, under, next to, behind and object of the preposition together modify verbs. These are called prepositional phrases or adverbials.
Some adverbs of place with examples are:
The children are playing in the garden.
He was walking on the railway track.The crowd rushed towards the exit.
Photo by Alaric Sim on UnsplashLet's Practice!
Read the following dialogue between two friends. Then choose the words or phrases that are adverbs of place.
Ray: Hello! The party at my place starts at 9:00 pm. I live close to the Bloor subway station.
Jason: How do I get to your place from the subway station?
Ray: Come out of the station and turn right. My apartment building is across the road from the subway station.
Quiz
Spot the adverbs of place in the above conversation. Select all that apply:
Adverbs of Place in a Sentence: After the Verb
You usually use adverbs of place after the verb in a sentence.
a. After the main verb (main verb + adverb of place).
Adverbs with examples after the main verb:
I arrived there before the meeting started.
They searched everywhere for evidence.
b. After the verb "to be" (to be + adverb of place)
Adverb with example after the verb "to be":
I was there before the meeting started.
Adverbs of Place in a Sentence: At the End or Beginning
Sometimes, to add emphasis, you can use adverbs of place at the end or beginning of a sentence.
a. At the end of a sentence.
Adverb with example at the end of a sentence:
Before the meeting started, I arrived there.
b. At the beginning of a sentence.
You can include an adverb of place at the beginning to add drama to speech, or to introduce a pronoun. If you use a pronoun instead of a noun, then you must add it before the verb.
Adverbs with examples at the beginning of a sentence:
There she stood, gazing into the sunset.
Here he is, but very late for the party.
Let's Practice
The following text is from a novel by famous author Enid Blyton. There are some adverbs of place in this short text.
He stumbled around the next corner and came into the main street of the town — and there, opposite, was a lamp that had a very welcome word shining on the glass....
Thankfully Richard stumbled up the steps and pushed open the police station door.
Choose the correct adverbs of place from the text:
A. round the next corner
B. into the main street
C. there, opposite
D. very welcome word
Quiz
From the list of phrases, choose all adverbs of place:
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