Prepositions of Place describe where something happens or is located. Try the following exercise:
Was this too hard? Study the article below and try the exercises at the bottom of the page.
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Prepositions of Place – Table
| Preposition | Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| at | A specific point/area | at the corner, at the door |
| on | A surface | on the table, on the floor |
| in | Inside an enclosed space | in the car, in the room |
| under | Below something | under the bed, under the tree |
| between | In the middle of two things | between the houses |
| next to | Beside something | next to the shop |
| behind | at the back part, hiding | behind the fence |
| above | at a higher position | above the bed, above the window |
| in front of | close to the front part | in front of the TV |
More Examples:
- She is waiting at the bus stop.
- The vase is on the shelf.
- He’s hiding under the bed.
Preposition of Place or Movement?
Prepositions of place tell us where something or someone is. They describe a static position and answer the question “Where?” For example, “The cat is under the table,” or “The book is on the desk.”
Prepositions of movement, on the other hand, describe a change of position, they show movement from one place to another and answer the question “Where to?” For example, “The cat went into the box,” or “She climbed onto the roof.”
Some pairs are especially tricky:
- in / into — “in” is static (“She is in the room”), while “into” shows motion (“She walked into the room”).
- on / onto — “on” is a location (“The vase is on the table”), but “onto” means movement to a surface (“He jumped onto the table”).
So, remember: place = no movement, movement = a change of location.
Prepositions of Place Exercises
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