Page 6 - Lesson Notes

Adverbs of place

An adverb of place, sometimes called spatial adverbs, will help explain where an action
happens. Adverbs of place will be associated with the action of the verb in a sentence,
providing context for direction, distance and position: southeast, everywhere, up, left, close
by, back, inside, around. These terms don’t usually end in -ly.
Adverbs of place examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

Directions

 New York is located north of Philadelphia.
 They traveled down the mountainside.
 First, I looked here, and then I looked there, but I can’t find them anywhere.

Notice that here and there are often used at the beginning of a sentence to express
emphasis or in exclamation.

 Here comes the sun.
 There is love in the air.
 Here you are!

Many times, adverbs of place can be used as prepositions as well. The difference is, when
the phrase is used as an adverb, it is modifying a verb; when it is used as a preposition, it is
always followed by a noun.

 New York is located north of Philadelphia -> New York is on the map.
 They travelled down river -> They travelled in the first compartment.
 That puppy was walking around by itself-> We put a collar around its neck.

Distance

 There was a deli
 Jane is moving far away.
 Carly is sitting close to me.

Position

 The treasure lies underneath the box.
 The cat is sleeping on the bed.
 Why are you standing in the middle of the dancefloor?

In addition, some adverbs of position will refer to a direction of movement. These often end
in -ward or -wards.

 Oscar travelled onward to Los Angeles.
 Hannah looked upwards to the heavens.