Prepositions of place

What you'll learn

A preposition of place tells us where something is.

Start with these examples

• The keys are on the table.
• The cat is under the chair.
• The bank is next to the café.
• The car is in front of the house.

Common prepositions

Preposition	Meaning	Example
in	inside	The milk is in the fridge.
on	touching the top	The phone is on the desk.
under	below	The shoes are under the bed.
behind	at the back	The garden is behind the house.
in front of	at the front	The bus stop is in front of the station.
next to	very near	Sit next to me.
between	in the middle of two things	The café is between the bank and the hotel.

Use a complete phrase

Most place prepositions need a noun or pronoun after them.

• on the table
• next to the shop
• between the bank and the café

Common mistakes

• in the table → on the table
• between the bank → between the bank and the café
• The cat is next the chair. → The cat is next to the chair.
• The keys are in my bag. / The keys are on my bag.
  Choose in when the keys are inside; choose on when they are on top.

Quick check

• The milk is ___ the fridge. → in
• The cat is ___ the bed. → under
• The café is ___ the bank and the hotel. → between

Next step

Use imperatives to give simple instructions and directions.