Prepositions of place in English

This chapter will discuss the prepositions of place in English. The preposition of place is used to indicate where an action takes place or where an object is located.

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1.What are prepositions of place?
2.A complete list of all English prepositions of place
3.Exercises
3.1.Fill in the English preposition of place exercise
3.2.English prepositions of place exercise with picture

What are prepositions of place?

The English prepositions of place are used to describe the position or location of an object compared to another object. The prepositions of place answer the question 'Where?'. These prepositions are usually located behind the main verb, usually the verb 'to be'.

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A complete list of all English prepositions of place

The table below shows the different prepositions of place with examples and their usage.

Preposition of place	Use	Example
Above	Object is higher than something	The chandelier hangs above the table. The painting hangs above my bed.
Across	Object is on the other side of something	The restaurant is across the road. There are no lights across the street.
After	Object follows something	My brother ran after my sister. She closed the door after her.
Against	Object is directed towards something	The couch was placed against the white wall. The bird flew against the window.
Along	Object moves from one point to something else	I walked along the boulevard. We drove along the shore.
Among	Object is in a group	You are among the few that passed the exam. He likes being among people.
Around	Object is positioned in a circular way	She puts her arms around his waist. They sit around the table.
At	Object is positioned at a specific point	I work at the supermarket. They arrived at the office.
Behind	Object is at the back of something	Your coat is behind the door. The school is behind the supermarket.
Below	Object is lower than something	The Netherlands is below sea level. The basement is below the house.
Beside	Object is next to something	A table beside the couch. The girl who sat beside her was her daughter.
Between	Object has something on both sides	I sit between my parents. His house is between the the supermarket and the library.
By	Object is near to something	The table by the door. The bike is by the bus stop.
Close to	Object is near to something	I live close to school. Her house is close to the library.
Down	Object goes from high to low	I live down the hill. They came down the hill.
From	Place where object starts	He is from Sydney. I took the book from the shelf.
In front of	Object has a part that is in the direction it faces	The plant is in front of the window. She stood in front of the door.
Inside	Object is opposite to outside	The dog is inside the room. The letter is inside the envelope.
In	Object is in an object with three dimensions Object is / comes from a larger area	We sat in the car for hours. She has lived in France.
Into	Object enters something	She came into the room, ready to leave. I went into the house to grab a jacket.
Near	Object is close to something	The school is near the supermarket. My friends live near each other.
Next to	Object is beside something	I live next to my uncle. She sits next to me.
Off	Object goes away from something	They jumped off the bridge. She took it off the table.
On	Object touches a surface Object is seen as a point on a line Object is by a lake or sea	There is a tissue on the table. They were on the way from London to Paris. The house on the lake.
Onto	Object moves from one place to another	The cat jumped onto the table. The dog jumped onto the couch.
Opposite	Object is on the other side of something	My friend sits opposite the teacher. The library is opposite the school.
Out of	Object is leaving something	The girl fell out of the window. The cat jumped out of the window.
Outside	Object is opposite to inside	The children are playing outside. The girl waits outside.
Over	Object is above something	The children climbed over the wall. The dog jumped over the fence.
Past	Object is going near something	I will go past the post office. She went past her grandmother's house.
Round	Object is positioned in a circle	They sat round the table. You are sitting round the campfire.
Through	Object is going from one point to another	They walked through the forest. The car drove through the wall.
To	Object goes towards something	I want to go to Australia. I will come to you.
Towards	Object goes in the direction of something	We ran towards the sea. They ran towards the forest.
Under	Object is below something	The dog sits under the table. The mouse under the chair.
Up	Object goes from low to high	They went up the hill. She lives up the hill.

The prepositions 'in', 'at', and 'on' have multiple different usages, take a look at the chapter to find a detailed explanation.