KINDS OF ADVERBS

ADVERBS OF PLACE

Rule

Adverbs of place tell us where something happens.
They are usually placed after the main verb or after the object:

Examples

after the main verb:

• I looked everywhere
• John looked away, up, down, around...
• I'm going home, out, back
• Come in

  after the object:

• They built a house nearby
• She took the child outside

Common Adverbs of Place

'Here' and 'there'

With verbs of movement, here means towards or with the speaker:

• Come here (= towards me)
• It's in here (= come with me to see it)

There means away from, or not with the speaker:

• Put it there (= away from me)
• It's in there (= go by yourself to see it)

Here and there are combined with prepositions to make many common adverbial phrases:

down here, down there;over here, over there;under here, under there;up here, up there

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:

• Here comes the bus. (followed by the verb)

Or by a pronoun if this is the subject (it, she, he etc.):

• Here it is! (followed by the pronoun)
• There she goes! (followed by the pronoun)

NOTE: most common adverbs of place also function as prepositions.

Examples

about, across, along, around, behind, by, down, in, off, on, over, round, through, under, up.

Go to Prepositions or Phrasal Verbs

Other adverbs of place: ending in '-wards', expressing movement in a particular direction:

backwards forwards downwards upwards inwards outwards

northwards southwards eastwards westwards homewards onwards

Examples

• Cats don't usually walk backwards.
• The ship sailed westwards.

BE CAREFUL! 'Towards' is a preposition, not an adverb, so it is always followed by a noun or a pronoun:

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

expressing both movement and location:

ahead, abroad, overseas, uphill, downhill, sideways, indoors, outdoors

Examples

• The child went indoors.
• He lived and worked abroad.