Adverbs of Place

Adverbs of place tell "where." Let's think about where Lucy skates, where Brent skis, where the President dresses, and where Charles Pinckney served:

Lucy skates everywhere.

She might also skate away, nearby, outside, or inside.

Brent skis everywhere.

He might also ski far, downhill, or home.

The President dresses inside.

He might also dress somewhere, here, or there.

Charles Pinckney served nearby.

He might also have served downtown, uptown, or everywhere.

Here are some common adverbs of place, telling "where:"

Words like in, out, and down can also be prepositions. But in order to function as a preposition, a word must have an object. When a word like in, out, or down does not have an object, it is an adverb.

Examples

We practice identifying adverbs of place. For sentences 1-14, write each adverb that tells "where," and give the verb or verb phrase that it modifies.

1. Fido ran ahead.
2. I shall stop there.
3. We looked everywhere for the lost treasure.
4. Everyone looked upward during the national anthem.
5. Cheryl fell here.
6. The spectators were sitting down to watch the parade.
7. The legend of William Tell is known everywhere.
8. William Tell proceeded outside and shot an arrow through an apple on his young son's head.
9. Tell was imprisoned somewhere for opposing Gessler, the despotic Austrian governor of Uri.
10. Gessler sat nearby and watched William Tell perform his punishment.
11. Pinckney's enthusiastic support of a stronger government trickled home.
12. Did he travel far to spread his views?
13. Here and there, he found political allies.
14. Pinckney rumored everywhere that Great Britain's constitution was the best in the world.

Solutions

1. The word ahead tells "where" Fido ran.
2. The word there modifies the verb stop. It tells "where" I shall stop.
3. The word everywhere modifies the verb looked. It tells "where" we looked.
4. The word upward modifies the verb phrase looked. It tells "where" everyone looked.
5. The word here modifies the verb fell. It tells "where" Cheryl fell.
6. The word down modifies the verb phrase were sitting. It tells "where" they were sitting.
7. The adverb everywhere tells "where" the legend of William Tell is known.
8. The adverb outside modifies the verb proceeded, telling "where" William Tell proceeded.
9. The adverb somewhere modifies the verb was imprisoned, telling "where" Tell was imprisoned.
10. The adverb nearby modifies the verb sat, telling "where" Gessler sat.
11. The adverb home tells "where" Pinckney's support trickled.
12. The adverb far modifies the verb did travel and tells "where."
13. The adverbs here and there modify the verb found, telling "where" he found political allies.
14. The adverb everywhere modifies the verb rumored, telling "where" Pinckney rumored.