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Prepositions of Place: Guide & Examples

Published on November 3, 2020 | Updated on March 25, 2024

Today we are going to learn more about what the preposition of place are and how to use them.

Prepositions are usually used in front of nouns or pronouns and they show the relationship between the noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence.

preposition of place is a preposition which is used to refer to a place where something or someone is located.

The most common prepositions of place are:

Atbyforamong
frominofaround
ontowithbecause of
aboutaboveacrossbefore
afteragainstalongbehind
belowbeneathbesidebetween
close todownduring except
inside ofintolikenear
offon top of ontoout of
outsideover pastsince
throughtowardunderuntil
upuponwithinwithout

Prepositions are most commonly followed by a noun phrase or pronoun:

  • The last time I saw him he was walking down the road.
  • I’ll meet you in the cafe opposite the cinema.
  • It was difficult to sleep during the flight.
  • It was the worst storm since the 1980s.

Prepositions of Place and their Definition

Prepositions can be used to show where something is located.

This is a list of preposition of place with their respective use.

Preposition of PlaceUse
Abovein or to a higher position than something else
Acrossfrom one side to the other of something with clear limits
Afterfollowing in time, place, or order
Atused to show an exact position or particular place
Behindat the back
Belowin a lower position
besidenext to
betweeninto the space that separates two places, people, or objects
bynear or at the side of
closenot far in position or time
In front offurther forward than someone or something else
Insidein or into a room, building,container, or something similar
Nearnot far away in distance
Next topeople or things that are very close to each other with nothing in between 
Outsidenot inside a building
Underin or to a position below or lower than something else

Sentences with Prepositions of Place

These are examples of sentences using different prepositions of place.

Preposition Sentence
AcrossMy Cousin Kristy lives across from the park
atShe was at the entrance of the supermarket
at The secretary was sitting at her desk
behindThe car park is behind the building
behindMaria is the one sitting behind Nick
belowWhen flying I enjoy watching the clouds below me
below Miners work below the surface of the Earth
betweenThe prisoner sat between the two policemen
betweenThe house is between the market and the drugstore
between There are mountains between Chile and Argentina.
ByShe lives by the beach
inThe pen was in the drawer
inShe is in Liberia
in front ofThe teacher stands in front of the class
in front ofThe hospital is in front of the park
InsideThe gift is inside the box
InsideI found a pack of cigarretes inside your backpack
NearMy house is near the school
Near This building is near a subway station.
next to In my English lesson I always sit next to my friend
next toThe soccer field is next to the basketball court
onThe painting was hanging on the wall
onThere were three books on your desk this morning
outsideShe was sitting in a bench outside the hospital
OutsideI was waiting for my kids outside the house
over/aboveThe sign hanging over the door read ‘No smoking’
ThroughThey walked slowly through the woods
under The woman was sheltering under a tree
Under Monsters live under your bed

Prepositions of Place Exercises

These are some preposition of place exercises that can help you determine how much you know about the topic


Manuel Campos

Manuel Campos

I am Jose Manuel, English professor and creator of EnglishPost.org, a blog whose mission is to share lessons for those who want to learn and improve their English