Quick tips: adverbs of place

Adverbs of place tell us where an action takes place. For example, in the sentence “I went downtown yesterday,” the word “downtown” is an adverb of place. Today I’d like to focus on four common adverbs of place and two common errors.

Incorrect use of prepositions with adverbs of place (downtown, abroad, home)

I hear the adverbs “downtown,” “abroad,” and “home” very frequently during my lessons, but it can be tricky for English learners to figure out which preposition to use with them (or whether to use one at all!). Common mistakes include:

Are you living in downtown? (incorrect)

I went to abroad last month. (incorrect)

We just stayed in home yesterday. (incorrect)

In all of the cases above, the prepositions are not necessary and can simply be removed!

Are you living downtown? (correct)

I went abroad last month. (correct)

We just stayed home yesterday. (correct)

But wait… what about “in downtown Toronto” or “at home”? You may have heard or seen prepositions in front of these words, and there is a good reason for that - these words are not always adverbs!

When they function as adjectives (together with nouns) or as nouns themselves, then yes, they may require a preposition! For example, in the sentence “I live in downtown Toronto,” the word “downtown” is an adjective, so we need to use “in” because of the noun “Toronto.”

*Note that there is no difference in meaning between “We just stayed home yesterday” and We just stayed at home yesterday.”

Incorrect use of “nearby”

“Nearby” is another very common adverb, but it is very often confused with the preposition “near.” Here’s the important thing to remember - don’t place a location after “nearby”! For example,...

There’s a supermarket nearby my home. (incorrect)

There’s a supermarket near my home. (correct)

I live in downtown Toronto. There are many supermarkets nearby. (correct)

*Note that “nearby” is not always an adverb and “near” is not always a preposition. Check a dictionary to find other ways to use these common words!