GRAMMAR LESSON / PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
 

There are two types of place prepositions.

Static prepositions are stationary, they refer to a place. Mobile prepositions imply movement; they suggest moving from one place to another:

He lived in London.

He moved to London.

Whether the preposition is static or mobile usually depends on the meaning of the verb.

These are common prepositions of place and their uses - there are a number of exceptions though:

at: the place where something happens

He lives at 13 Acacia Avenue.

He's at the theater, sitting at the back.

We'll stop at Aylsham en route to London.

in: something all around

We sat in silence in the cinema.

We live in Aylsham.

He lives in Spain.

into/out of: movement from outside to inside a place or vice versa

We walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room.

I drove out of Buxton and into Aylsham.

on: the top surface

The book is on the table.

The boat is on the sea.

onto/off: movement to the top s urface of anobject from anotherobject

The cat jumped off the table and onto the chair.

I climbed off the roof and onto the ladder.

Other prepositions of place include: above, across, along, around, behind, below, beside, by, in, in front of, into, near, next to, on, opposite, out of, over, past, round, through, to, towards, under.