Adverbs of place
450 fill-in-the-gap exercises, 45 tests of ten
They say where. Almost all of them go at the end of the sentence.
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Position
At the end, after the verb and any object:
Put the box down here. They’re waiting outside.
With a verb of movement, the adverb follows immediately: He ran upstairs. She went abroad.
here and there
Here is where the speaker is; there is anywhere else. Both can start the sentence with the verb inverted, a pattern worth recognizing:
Here comes the bus. There goes the last train.
That inversion only happens with here and there and only when the subject is a noun: Here it comes, not Here comes it.
somewhere, anywhere, nowhere
The same split as with some and any:
- somewhere in positive sentences: It must be somewhere in this room.
- anywhere in negatives and questions: I can’t find it anywhere.
- nowhere carries its own negative: It was nowhere to be found.
Do not double the negative: I didn’t see it nowhere is not standard.
Place before time
When both come at the end, place goes first:
We met at the station yesterday.
Adverbs and prepositions
Some words do both jobs. Without a noun after them they are adverbs; with one they are prepositions:
She went inside. — adverb. She went inside the house. — preposition.
All forms
| Group | Words |
|---|---|
| here and there | here, there |
| everywhere | everywhere, somewhere, anywhere, nowhere |
| in and out | inside, outside, indoors, outdoors, in, out |
| up and down | upstairs, downstairs, uphill, downhill, above, below |
| near and far | nearby, close by, far away, abroad, overseas |
| direction | away, back, forward, backwards, ahead |
Examples
Taken from the 450 sentences in this drill. The answer is highlighted.
- Bring the paint roller inside before the frost gets to it.
- He left the coal scuttle outside in the garden, and it rained all night.
- We posted the parcel abroad and it cost twice as much.
- He borrowed the torch last week and brought it back this morning.
- Leave the car key over there, by the far wall.
- We searched the whole building, but the shopping list was nowhere to be found.
- There is a shop nearby that sells the phone charger, only two streets from us.
- My gloves are somewhere in the car, I am sure of it.
- Put the ladder here in this very corner, where I can reach it.
- Please take these towels upstairs to the bathroom on the top floor.
- I could not find the shopping list anywhere in the whole house.
- She asked everywhere in the village before anyone remembered the name.
Mistakes to avoid
Wrong: I looked nowhere for my keys and found them. correct: I looked everywhere for my keys and found them.
Nowhere means in no place at all, which contradicts finding them.
Wrong: I didn't see it nowhere. correct: I didn't see it anywhere.
With a negative verb, use anywhere.
Wrong: She lives abroad in the next street. correct: She lives nearby, in the next street.
Abroad means in another country.