Adverbs of place

There are many different types of adverbs – some describe how we do something (adverbs of manner), some describe how often we do something (adverbs of frequency), and others describe when we do something (adverbs of time). When we want to say where something happens, we use adverbs of place. What are they and where do they go in a sentence? Read on to find out!

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.