Adverbs and Prepositions for Place
Indicating location or direction
Adverb / Preposition
| ADVERB | PREPOSITION |
|---|---|
An adverb for place indicates movement toward a place or in a direction. |
The same meaning can be expressed with a preposition, which indicates movement toward an object — person, place or thing. A prepositional phrase includes a preposition and a noun phrase (object). |
He went inside/ in. ("the house" is understood from context) |
He went inside/ in the house. |
He walked back. ("home" or "where he came from") |
He walked in back of us. |
The guards wouldn't let us go through. (The location is understood from context.) |
We walked through the area. |
The captain went below. (The object is understood from context.) |
He went below deck. |
Traditional grammar, differentiates an adverb from a preposition. An adverb does not include an object. A preposition requires on object.
Linguistic description, finds little difference between the adverbs for place and the prepositional phrases above. The object can be understood from the context after a place adverb. "Place adverbs" have been reassigned to the category of Preposition. See Grammar Notes below.
Adverbs
With an Optional Object
Pirate's Ship Playhouse
Adverbs that optionally take objects
A child can go . (adverb) |
A child can go the ship. (preposition) |
*aboard / onboard |
about |
above |
across |
after |
against |
along |
around |
before |
behind |
below |
beneath |
besides |
between |
beyond |
by |
down |
for |
in/ inside |
near |
off |
on |
opposite |
out / outside |
over |
past |
round |
since |
through/ throughout |
to |
under/ underneath |
up |
within |
without |
|
|
Traditional grammar, places the above words into two categories. It is a preposition if it takes an object as its complement. It is an adverb if no object follows.
Linguistic description, includes these words in the category of Preposition whether or not the object is stated or understood from context.
Adverbs
Object in the Word Form
Adverbs that include the object in the word form
| A + NOUN | NOUN + WARD | PREP + NOUN | NOUNS |
|---|---|---|---|
The words with the prefix a- originate a form of the preposition on (afoot, afar, abed) . -a prefix |
The words with the suffix -ward originate from Old English -weard "in the direction of". backward |
The words with the suffix -stairs, -doors, -ground, -head, -where are formed with a preposition + noun. |
These adverbs indicate a location. They are noun-like. |
abroad |
east/ eastward |
downstairs (hill, stream, wind, stage, town) |
here / there |
ahead (afoot, abreast) |
north/ northward |
upstairs (hill, stream, wind, stage) |
home |
aground (aloft) |
south/ southward |
indoors (side) |
|
ashore (asea) |
west/ westward |
outdoors (side) |
|
aside |
back/ backward |
underground (foot) |
|
apart "to" |
forth/ forward |
overhead (board, land, board) |
|
away |
up/ upward (down-, in--, on-, out-, etc.) |
anywhere (no, some) |
|
|
seaward / landward |
|
|
Traditional grammar, includes these words in the Adverb category.
Linguistic description, includes these words in the category of Preposition. (CaGEL 614)
Commonly Confused
Literal vs. Expression
| VERB + ADVERB (PREPOSITION) | VERB + PARTICLE |
|---|---|
When an adverb is used after a verb, the adverb keeps its own meaning. |
However, with a phrasal verb, the verb + particle combine to form one meaning. See Phrasal Verbs. |
The machine took the ice off airplane wings. (off modifies where the ice was removed) |
The airplane took off. |
She put the candle out on the veranda(out modifies where she put it) |
She put the candle out. |
I put my book away. (pushed modifies where she it was put) |
I had my cat put away. |
We gave money in our school. (in modifies where we gave) |
We gave in. |
He fell behind the house. (behind modifies where he fell) |
He fell behind.
|
literal – each word has its own meaning
expression – two or more words together have a meaning
Grammar Notes
Traditional Grammar and Linguistic Description
Advanced
| TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR | LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
Traditional grammar refers to the words above as adverbs because they answer the question "Where?" An adverb does not take an object as its complement. "Adverbs modify verbs. Often they answer the question "How?" "Adverbs are also used to express time of frequency. Examples: tomorrow, today, yesterday, soon, never, usually, always, yet." "An important element of English sentences is the prepositional phrase. It consists of a preposition (PREP) and its object (O). The object of a preposition is a noun or pronoun." (Azar 440 A-3)
|
Current linguistic description includes place adverbs and prepositions for place in the same category: Preposition. "they seem much less related to the verb and more like a preposition. A preposition can occur as a stand alone word or be complemented by a noun (an object) or a gerund." (CaGEL Prepositions vs adverbs 7 §2.4) The category Adverb is reserved for modifiers more closely related to the verb (adverbs of manner, degree, frequency, etc.) A prepositional phrase occurs as an adjunct clause; an adverb does not. (CaGEL 8 §4.2) |
ADVERB: He went up / upstairs. PREPOSITION: He went up the stairs. (object)
|
ADVERB: He went slowly / often / too fast. PREPOSITION: He went up / up the stairs / upstairs. |
CATEGORIES: NP –noun phrase; N – noun; VP – verb phrase; V – verb; Det – determiner; PP – prepositional phrase; P – preposition; AdvP – adverb phrase; Adv – adverb; AdjP– adjective phrase; Adj – adjective
FUNCTIONS: Subject: Subject, Predicate: Predicator (V)
Complements: dependents of the verb or verb phrase: Object, Indirect Object
Adjuncts: dependents (modifiers) or supplements, elements that are more loosely attached to the clause (CaGEL 15 §5)
Supplements: interpoloations, appendages (clauses or phrases tacked on but not closely related the central idea of the sentence)
Resources
Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar (Azar) . White Plains, New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print.
Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum, et al. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CaGEL) . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print.
Practice 1
Similar but different in meaning
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button.
Practice 2
Earthquake
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button.