Grammar-Quizzes.com

 PRACTICE ON POINTS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR

• Adverb Summary
• Adverb Diagnostic
• Adverb Uses
• Adv for Manner 1
• Adv for Manner 2
• Adv for Time
• Adv Frequency
• Adv for Place
• Adv for Degree
• Splitting Verbs
• After / Before
• By the time
• When / While
• Adverb Phrases
• Because Phrases
• Related Pages

Adverbs for Place

Expressing movement in a particular direction

 

Both adverbs and prepositional phrases express movement in a direction. 
More specifically, a prepositional phrase relates an object to the direction of movement. 

 

 

A Place Adverb vs. a Prepositional Phrase 

A PLACE  ADVERB	A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
A place adverb adverb indicates movement toward a place or in a direction.	A prepositional phrase indicates movement toward an object — person, place or thing.  A preposition is followed by an object.
He went inside. (inside modifies where he went)	He went inside the house. (inside the house modifies where he went)
He walked back. (back modifies where he walked — toward the back) He walked backward. (toward the back but facing forward)	He walked in back of us. (in back of us modifies where he walked)
The guards wouldn't let us go through. (through modifies where we couldn't go)	We walked through the area. (through the area modifies where we walked)

 

 

 

Adverbs and Prepositional Phrases for Place

We went aboard about around across along aside behind below beneath by inside next on outside over past through underneath .  (adverb)

We went aboard about around across along aside of behind below beneath by inside of next to on outside of over past through underneath the ship.   (preposition)

aboard / onboard	before	in	past
about (around)	behind	inside	through
above (overhead)	below	near	throughout
across	beneath	next (adv) next to (prep)	to
after	beside / besides	off	under
along	between	on	underneath
around	beyond	out (adv)  out of (prep)	up
aside	by	outside	within
back (adv) in back of (prep)	down	over	without

List — Prepositions for place

 

 

 

Place Adverbs  (which are not prepositions)

 

They went  abroad apart ahead away anywhere downhill downstairs here there everywhere nowhere somewhere nearby indoors overseas sideways backwards downward forwards eastward upwards .  (adverb)

abroad (overseas)	downstairs / upstairs	aloft  (in the air)	eastward
apart	here/ there	overseas	northward
ahead	everywhere	sideways	outward / inward
away	nowhere	underfoot / overhead	southward
anywhere	somewhere	backward / backwards	toward/ towards
back	nearby	downward	upward / upwards
downhill / uphill	indoors / outdoors	forward / forwards	westward

 

 

 

Adverbs for Place vs. Phrasal Verbs

A VERB FOLLOWED BY A PLACE ADVERB	A PHRASAL VERB (TWO-WORD VERB)
Use an adverb to modify a verb by telling where.	A phrasal verb looks like a verb with an adverb, but it is different.   In a phrasal verb, or two-word verb,  the adverb combines with the verb to make an expression. See: Phrasal Verbs
My dog wandered off. (off modifies where it wandered)	The airplane took off. (off combines with take to form an expression: departed)
She put the cat out. (out modifies where she put)	She put the fire out. (out combines with put to form an expression: extinguish)
I pushed my cat away. (pushed modifies where she pushed it)	I had my cat put away. (away combines with put to form an expression: euthanized)
We went in.  (in modifies where she went)	We gave in. (in combines with gave to form an expression: surrender)
He walked behind.  (behind modifies where he fell)	He fell behind.  (behind combines with fell to form an expression: progressed slowly)

 

 

Is it wrong to end a sentence with a preposition?

Speech changes as does fashion.  Grammarians can be prescriptive setting rules that can make speech sound unnatural.  Grammarians can also be descriptive noting how speech is used in different contexts and social situations.  The examples in this web site tend to be descriptive.

 

INFORMAL	MORE  FORMAL
What's up?  (expression) What are you up to? (expression)	How are you?  What is new?   What have you been doing lately?
Where's it at?  (unnecessary preposition)	Where is it? At which place is it?  (awkward; overly formal speech)
Where are you going to?  (unnecessary preposition)	Where are you going?  To which place are you going? (awkward; overly formal speech)
Where did you go out to?  (awkward use of multiple prepositions)	Where did you go?
I don't know where he went to. (awkward; unnecessary preposition)	I don't know where he went.   I don't know to which place he went. (awkward; formal speech)

 

 

Resources

• "Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 November 21." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 Jan 2009. UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Language/ > 
• Blue, Tina, "It's Usually Not Wrong to End a Sentence with a Preposition." 08 Aug 2000, http://grammartips.homestead.com/prepositions1.html
• Pinker, Steven, "Grammar Puss: the fallacies of language mavens.." The New Republic. 31 Jan 1994. <http://camba.ucsd.edu/files/misc/ll/grammar_puss.html>

 

 

 

Practice 1

Earthquake

 

Decide which word form — adverb or preposition — is used in each sentence?

1. Select your response from the menu.
2. Then, check your answer by clicking the "check" button and reading the feedback.

#	YOUR RESPONSE	FEEDBACK
1.	I heard a sound and turned about.  — adverb preposition
2.	The roof fell about us. — adverb preposition
3.	I ran outside the building.   — adverb preposition
4.	People were standing around.   — adverb preposition
5.	As I looked at our house, I saw that it had fallen apart.   — adverb preposition
6.	The walls fell into the street.   — adverb preposition
7.	Underneath some concrete, I saw my car.   — adverb preposition
8.	People were shouting down the street.   — adverb preposition
9.	It was hard to get by the debris on the street. — adverb preposition
10.	We had to get by  and we did manage to do that. — adverb preposition

 

 

 

Practice 2

Earthquake

 

Decide which word form adverb or preposition best completes the sentence.

1. Select your response from the menu.
2. Then, check your answer by clicking the "check" button and reading the feedback.

#	YOUR RESPONSE	CHECK
11.	We had to get   — out outside   the city.
12.	We weren't sure how to get   — out out of , so we climbed a pole to see.
13.	We decide to head   — north of northward northern  because the streets were not so blocked.
14.	Emergency centers were   — north north of northward   the city.
15.	We looked   — everywhere everyplace somewhere   and saw people bewildered. (confused)
16.	They were lifting rubble and looking   — under underneath  .
17.	We helped a mother open a door so that she could get to her children  — in inside .
18.	Her children had been — in inside inward the kitchen when the earthquake struck.
19.	We called for extra help, so some men walked — over overhead above .
20.	For many days after, a deep feeling of  sadness and loss drifted  — over overhead above   our city like a dark storm cloud.