Adverbs of place in Spanish (aquí...)
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Sign up for freeAdverbs of place (adverbios de lugar) give information about the location of an action.
They give an answer to questions starting with "where?".
Examples:
- Where are your room keys?
- Las llaves de tu habitación están aquí. (Your room keys are here.)
- Where should I put my backpack?
- Pon tu mochila debajo del asiento. (Put your backpack under the seat.)
Lesson outline
Hide- 1.Verb-modifier
- 2.Placement
- 3.Types of adverbs of place
- 3.1.Demonstrative adverbs
- 3.2.Adverbs of location
- 3.2.1.Adverbs of position
- 3.2.2.Adverbs of direction
- 4.Other adverbs of place
- 5.Exercises
- 5.1.Adverbs of place in Spanish - Flashcards
- 5.2.Adverb of location or adverb of direction?
- 5.3.Adverbs of place in Spanish - Fill in the blanks
Verb-modifier
Adverbs of place generally modify the verb they refer to.
Since they refer to a verb, they do not change according to the gender or number.
Examples:
- El gato está encima del sofá. (The cat is on the couch.)
- El banco está enfrente del restaurante italiano. (The bank is in front of the Italian restaurant.)
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Maria Carmen V. 
Ruht V.
Rocío S. 
Lidia P. 
Alberica T.
Carla O.
Gracia D.
ELENA R.
Yas G. 
Laura Cecilia L.
Placement
Adverbs of place are generally placed after the verb they modify.
Examples:
- El banco está allí. (The bank is over there.)
- Siéntate aquí. (Sit down here.)
Types of adverbs of place
Adverbs of place are divided into 2 types:
- demonstrative adverbs
- adverbs of location
1. Demonstrative adverbs
Demonstrative adverbs indicate an imprecise location.
| Spanish adverb | English adverb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| acá | here, over here | Miguel vive acá. (Miguel lives here.) |
| ahí | there | Pon tus gafas ahí. (Put your glasses there.) |
| allá | there, over there | Vamos para allá. (Let's go over there.) |
| allí | there | La carnicería está allí. (The butcher's is there.) |
| aquí | here | Deberías venir aquí. (You should come here.) |
2. Adverbs of location
Adverbs of location are divided into 2 other types:
- adverbs of position
- adverbs of direction
They correspond to English prepositions of place.
Example:
- Es: La parada del autobus está delante de la casa de Javier. (delante: adverb)
- En: The bus stop is in front of Javier's house. (in front of: preposition)
1. Adverbs of position
Adverbs of position indicate where something or someone is exactly located.
They are generally followed by the preposition de.
| Adverb of position | Opposite |
|---|---|
| delante (in front) | detrás (behind) |
| dentro (inside) | fuera (outside) |
| encima (ahead) | debajo (underneath) |
Examples:
- El banco está detrás de la parada del autobús. (The bank is behind the bus stop.)
- Aparqué el coche delante del supermercado. (I parked the car in front of the supermarket.)
- El gato está fuera de la casa. (The cat is outside the house.)
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* When de is followed by the definite article el, they turn into del (de+el).
2. Adverbs of direction
As the name suggests, these type of adverbs indicate direction.
Unlike adverbs of position, adverbs of direction are generally used with verbs which express movement.
| Adverb of direction | Opposite |
|---|---|
| adelante (forwards, to the front) | atrás (behind, back) |
| arriba (above) | abajo (downwards, down) |
| adentro (inside) | afuera (outside) |
Examples:
- ¡Vamos adelante! (Let's go ahead!)
- El bar está abajo y el restaurante arriba. (The bar is downstairs and the restaurant upstairs.)
- Mejor vamos adentro porque aquí hace mucho calor. (Let's go inside because it is hot out here.)
To clarify the difference between adverbs of position and adverbs of direction, have a look at the following examples:
- Exact location: Puso su paraguas detrás de la puerta. (He put his umbrella behind the door.)
- Movement towards a point: Se fueron sin mirar atrás. (They left without looking backwards.)
Other adverbs of place
| Spanish adverb | English translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a la derecha | to the right on the right | Hay un edificio histórico a la derecha. (There is an historic building on the right.) |
| a la izquierda | to the left on the left | El camino tuerce bruscamente a la izquierda. (The road turns sharply to the left.) |
| al final | in the end | Hay un banco al final de la calle. (There is a bank at the end of the street.) |
| al lado | next to beside | Hay una panadería turca al lado de la oficina. (There is a Turkisk bakery next to the office.) |
| alrededor | around | Los niños corrían alrededor del árbol. (The kids ran around the tree.) |
| en el centro | in the middle | En el centro de la plaza hay una fuente. (There is a fountain in the middle of the square.) |
| en el medio | in the middle | Se cayó en el medio de carretera. (He fell down in the middle of the road.) |
| enfrente | in front of | La lavandería está enfrente del supermercado. (The laundry is in front of the supermarket.) |
| cerca | close | La carnicería está cerca del casco histórico. (The butcher's is close to the historical centre.) |
| lejos | far | La playa está lejos de mi casa. (The beach is far from my house.) |
Exercises
- Adverbs of place in Spanish - Flashcards
- Adverb of location or adverb of direction?
- Adverbs of place in Spanish - Fill in the blanks
Adverbs of place in Spanish - Flashcards
Adverb of location or adverb of direction?
Adverbs of place in Spanish - Fill in the blanks
Exercises
- Adverbs of place in Spanish - Flashcards
- Adverb of location or adverb of direction?
- Adverbs of place in Spanish - Fill in the blanks