Giving information about place: prepositions

6.53 This section explains how to indicate the place where an action occurs, the place where someone or something is, the place they are going to or coming from, or the direction they are moving in.

This usually involves using a prepositional phrase as an adjunct. For general information on adjuncts, see paragraphs 6.1 to 6.15.

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and its object, which is nearly always a noun group.

The most basic use of most prepositions is to indicate position and direction.

He fumbled in his pocket.

On your left is the river.

Why did he not drive to Valence?

The voice was coming from my apartment.

I ran inside and bounded up the stairs.

6.54 A preposition is a word which opens up the possibilities of saying more about a thing or an action, because you can choose any appropriate noun group after it as its object. Most prepositions are single words, although there are some that consist of more than one word, such as 'out of' and 'in between'.

Here is a list of common one-word prepositions which are used to talk about place or destination:

about above across along alongside among around at

before behind below beneath beside between beyond by

down from in inside into near off on

opposite outside under past round through throughout to

towards over underneath up within

Here is a list of prepositions which consist of more than one word and which are used to talk about place or destination:

ahead of all over away from

close by close to in between

in front of near to next to

on top of out of

6.55 Many prepositions can also be adverbs, that is, they can be used without an object. See paragraph 6.83 for a list of these.

6.56 Because English has a large number of prepositions, some of them, such as 'beside', 'by', 'near' and 'next to', are very close in meaning. Other prepositions, for example 'at' and 'in', can be used for several different meanings. The meaning and usage of prepositions should be checked where possible in a dictionary.

6.57 Prepositions have an object, which comes after the preposition.

The switch is by the door.

Look behind you, Willie!

Note that if a personal pronoun is used as the object of a preposition, it must be the object pronoun: 'me', 'you', 'him', 'her', 'it', 'us', 'them'.

Prepositions can also combine with complex noun groups to describe place in some detail. See paragraph 2.297 for information on the use of 'of' in noun group.

I stood atone in the middle of the yard.

He was sitting towards the rear end of the room.

He went to the back of the store.

Position of prepositional phrases

after verbs indicating position 6.58 Prepositional phrases are most commonly used after verbs. They are used after verbs which indicate position in order to specify where something is.

She lives in Newcastle.

An old piano stood in the corner of the room.

You ought to stay out of the sun.

The following verbs are often used to indicate position:

be belong hang

lie live remain

sit be situated stand

stay

after verbs 6.59 Prepositional phrases are used after verbs indicating movement to specify the direction of movement.

I went into the kitchen and began to make the dinner.

Mrs Kaul was leading him to his seat.

The others burst from their tents.

The wire was too strong and pulled a hook out or the floor.

He took her to Edinburgh.

after verbs indicating activities 6.60 Prepositional phrases are used after verbs indicating activities to specify where an activity takes place.

...children playing in the street.

The meeting was being held in a community centre in Logan Heights.

He was practising high jumps in the garden.

6.61 Prepositional phrases usually come at the end of the clause, after the verb or after the object of the verb if there is one.

We landed at a small airport.

We put the children's toys in a big box.

at beginning of clause: for emphasis or contrast 6.62 If you want to focus on the prepositional phrase for emphasis or contrast, it can be placed at the beginning of the clause. This ordering is mainly used in descriptive writing or reports.

In the garden everything was peaceful.

Through the glass of the frontage she could see a waiter bending attentively over a woman of about her own age.

at beginning of clause: inversion of subject and verb 6.63 If you put a prepositional phrase which refers to the position of something at the beginning of the clause when you are using a verb intransitively, the normal word order after it is often changed, and the verb is placed before the subject.

On the ceiling hung dustpans and brushes.

Inside the box lie the group's US mining assets.

Beyond them lay the fields.

If you are using 'be' as a main verb, the verb always comes before the subject; so, for example, you cannot say 'Under her chin a colossal brooch was'.

Under her chin was a colossal brooch.

Next to it is a different sign which says simply 'Beware'.

Alongside him on the rostrum will be Mr Mitchell Fromstein.