Place preposition

A preposition of place is a preposition used to link place. They form the head of place prepositional phrases such as "on the chair" or "to the park.”

As place can be categorised into categories, prepositions can be discussed there, namely:

• Location preposition / preposition of location
• Direction preposition / preposition of direction

In pedagogical grammar the term "preposition of place" usually refers specifically to location prepositional phrases(!).

These are used to achieve the language function of locating concrete objects within space.

Examples of (single word) place prepositions include:

• at, e.g. at the park
• on, e.g. on the box
• in e.g. in the box, in Germany
• by, e.g. by the park
• over, e.g. over the box
• under, e.g. under the box
• behind, e.g. behind
• between, e.g. between

To can be used as a place preposition after certain adjectives:

• close to, closer to, closest to
• near to, nearer to, nearest to
• next to

Near can also be used without to, but is really an adjective not a preposition.

The grammar for at/on/in can be a little complicated and confusing for learners

In pedagogical grammar, the term "preposition of place" is also used to describe phrases that achieve the same function as single prepositions. For example:

• in front of
• at the front of
• to the right of
• to the left of

Pedagogy

Basic prepositions of place can be demonstrated physically, e.g. by placing a pen on a table.