English Grammar > Adverbs

Adverbs of place tell us where something happens. They are usually placed after the main verb or after the clause they modify. Adverbs of place do not modify adjectives or other adverbs.

EXAMPLES

• John looked around but he couldn’t see the monkey.
• I searched everywhere I could think of.
• I’m going back to school.
• Come in!
• They built a house nearby.
• She took the child outside.

HERE AND THERE

Here and there are common adverbs of place. They give a location relative to the speaker. With verbs of movement, here means “towards or with the speaker” and there means “away from, or not with the speaker”.

Sentence	Meaning
Come here!	Come towards me.
The table is in here.	Come with me; we will go see it together
Put it there.	Put it in a place away from me.
The table is in there.	Go in; you can see it by yourself.

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

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 or by a pronoun if the subject is a pronoun.

EXAMPLES

• Here comes the bus!
• There goes the bell!
• There it is!
• Here they are!

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.

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

ADVERBS OF PLACE ENDING IN -WHERE

Adverbs of place that end in –where express the idea of location with specifying a specific location or direction.

EXAMPLES

• 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!

ADVERBS OF PLACE ENDING IN -WARDS

Adverbs of place that end in –wards express movement in a particular direction.

EXAMPLES

• Cats don’t usually walk backwards.
• The ship sailed westwards.
• The balloon drifted upwards.
• We will keep walking homewards until we arrive.

Be careful: Towards is a preposition, not an adverb, so it is always followed by a noun or a pronoun.

EXAMPLES

• He walked towards the car.
• She ran towards me.

ADVERBS OF PLACE EXPRESSING BOTH MOVEMENT & LOCATION

Some adverbs of place express both movement & location at the same time.

EXAMPLES

• The child went indoors.
• He lived and worked abroad.
• Water always flows downhill.
• The wind pushed us sideways.