Basic Prepositions of Place in English
A preposition of place shows us the position or location of something.
It answers the question “Where?”
Here is a list of basic prepositions of place in English:
- behind
- in front of
- next to
- between
- near
- above
- below
- in
- on
Watch the video above to hear the pronunciation of each preposition.
Here are examples to demonstrate each preposition:
Example Sentences
- The ball is behind the box.
- The ball is in front of the box.
- The ball is next to the box.
- The ball is between the boxes.
- The ball is near the box.
- The ball is above the box.
- The ball is below the box.
- The ball is in the box.
- The ball is on the box.
Examples of prepositions of place
These example sentences are based on the chart with the dogs above:
- The dogs are behind the postman.
- The dog is in front of the man.
- The dog is next to the bones. …. OR …
The dog is beside the bones. - The bone is between the two dogs.
- The dog is near the book.
- The dog is close to the book.
- The blue dog is above the fire hydrant. …. OR …
The blue dog is over the fire hydrant. - The fire hydrant is below the blue dog. …. OR …
The fire hydrant is under the blue dog. - The yellow dog is next to the fire hydrant.
- The dog is in the bed.
- There is a thermometer in the dog’s mouth.
- The dog is on the table.
- The woman has dog saliva on her.
Notice in the examples above how some prepositions have synonyms (words with the same or similar meaning).
- next to = beside
- near = close to
- above = over
- below = under
NEXT TO and BESIDE and closer to the object than CLOSE TO and NEAR.
NEXT TO and BESIDE usually means there is no space between the two objects or nothing between them.
With CLOSE TO and NEAR there is usually a little space between the two objects.
We will go into more detail about prepositions of place in other lessons.