eng6-1.4· UNIT 1. About Town· ~13 min

Prepositions of place

behind, between, in front of, in, next to, on the left/right of.

Prepositions of place tell us where something or someone is. This unit's Listening and Vocabulary page teaches seven of them together, matched to a street scene with a bowling alley, a park, a shopping center, a supermarket and a restaurant: behind, between, in front of, in, left, next to, and right. behind means at the back of something (‘The supermarket is behind the shopping center.’); in front of means facing the front of something (‘The restaurant is in front of the man.’); between is used when one thing has one other thing on each side, and you must always name both of them (‘The park is between the bowling alley and the shopping center.’); in shows something is inside an area or place (‘There is a man in the restaurant.’); and next to shows two things are right beside each other (‘The supermarket is next to the shopping center.’). left and right work differently from the other five words: they are not used alone, but inside the fixed pattern ‘on the left of’ / ‘on the right of’ to say which side something is on. The textbook's own example is: "The bowling alley is on the left of the park." These prepositions almost always come before a noun phrase: preposition + article/determiner + noun. A very common sentence pattern is: subject + verb to be + preposition + place (‘The park is between the bowling alley and the shopping center.’). For example: ‘The bowling alley is on the left of the park, and the shopping center is on the right.’

Key terms

preposition of place — A small word that tells us where something or someone is (in, next to, between, behind, in front of, on the left/right of).
in — Inside an area, building or place: ‘There is a man in the restaurant.’
next to — Directly beside something: ‘The supermarket is next to the shopping center.’
between — In the middle of two things, one on each side — both things must be named: ‘The park is between the bowling alley and the shopping center.’
in front of — Facing the front of something: ‘The restaurant is in front of the man.’
behind — At the back of something: ‘The supermarket is behind the shopping center.’
on the left of / on the right of — The fixed pattern used to say which side something is on. Textbook example: "The bowling alley is on the left of the park."
Prepositions of place — meaning and example
PrepositionMeaningExample sentence
ininside an area, building or placeThere is a man in the restaurant.
next todirectly beside somethingThe supermarket is next to the shopping center.
betweenin the middle of two named thingsThe park is between the bowling alley and the shopping center.
behindat the back of somethingThe supermarket is behind the shopping center.
in front offacing the front of somethingThe restaurant is in front of the man.
on the left of / on the right ofshows which side something is onThe bowling alley is on the left of the park.

Learn each preposition with its meaning and a simple example.

Sentence pattern: subject + to be + preposition + place
Subjectto bePreposition + placeFull sentence
The manisin the restaurantThe man is in the restaurant.
The lampisnext to the windowThe lamp is next to the window.
The parkisbetween the bowling alley and the shopping centerThe park is between the bowling alley and the shopping center.
The supermarketisbehind the shopping centerThe supermarket is behind the shopping center.
The restaurantisin front of the manThe restaurant is in front of the man.
The bowling alleyison the left of the parkThe bowling alley is on the left of the park.

Use this pattern: subject + is/are + preposition + article/determiner + noun.

Common traps with these prepositions
WrongWhy it is wrongCorrect
The park is between the bowling alley.'Between' always needs two things, one on each side.The park is between the bowling alley and the shopping center.
The boy is in front the door.'In front of' always needs the word 'of'.The boy is in front of the door.
The lamp is next the window.'Next to' always needs the word 'to'.The lamp is next to the window.
The shopping center is right of the park.The pattern needs the full phrase 'on the ... of', not just the side word.The shopping center is on the right of the park.

These are the most common mistakes students make with this unit's prepositions of place.

✎How to choose between 'behind' and 'in front of'
  1. 1Step 1: picture the scene: Think about where the person or thing is. Sara is in the front row. Ali is directly behind her.
  2. 2Step 2: ask 'Can you see the face or the back?': Ali can see the back of Sara's head. That means Ali is BEHIND Sara.
  3. 3Step 3: use the correct preposition: Ali is sitting BEHIND Sara. Sara is sitting IN FRONT OF Ali.
  4. 4Result: Ali is sitting behind Sara.
✎How to use 'between' correctly
  1. 1Step 1: check — are there TWO things?: 'Between' always needs two separate things, one on each side. For example: the bowling alley and the shopping center.
  2. 2Step 2: place the object in the middle: The park is in the middle. The bowling alley is on one side. The shopping center is on the other side.
  3. 3Step 3: write the sentence: The park is between the bowling alley and the shopping center.
  4. 4Note: Do NOT use 'between' with only one object. Say 'next to the shopping center', not 'between the shopping center'.
✎How to use 'on the left of' and 'on the right of'
  1. 1Step 1: find the fixed thing: Choose the place everything else is compared to — here, the park.
  2. 2Step 2: decide which side: The bowling alley is on one side of the park — the left side.
  3. 3Step 3: build the full pattern: on + the + left/right + of + the park → 'on the left of the park'.
  4. 4Result: The bowling alley is on the left of the park. The shopping center is on the right of the park.
💡Note

Always put the preposition BEFORE the noun phrase: 'in the restaurant', 'next to the shop', 'behind the door'. Never put it after: NOT 'the door behind'.

🚫Common mistake

Common mistake: leaving out 'of' after 'in front'. Wrong: 'The boy is in front the door.' Correct: 'The boy is in front of the door.'

⚠️Caution

'Between' always needs TWO things, one on each side: 'The park is between the bowling alley and the shopping center.' Do NOT say 'between the park' or 'between the shop' — one object is not enough for 'between'.

🚫Common mistake

Common mistake: dropping 'on the ... of'. Wrong: 'The shop is right of the park.' Correct (textbook style): "The shop is on the right of the park." Always keep the full pattern: on the left/right OF something.

Rules

  1. 1Use 'in' when something is inside an area, building or place: ‘There is a man in the restaurant.’
  2. 2Use 'behind' for something at the back, and 'in front of' for something at the front: ‘The supermarket is behind the shopping center.’ ‘The restaurant is in front of the man.’
  3. 3Use 'next to' when two things are right beside each other: ‘The supermarket is next to the shopping center.’
  4. 4Use 'between' when something has one thing on each side, and always name both things: ‘The park is between the bowling alley and the shopping center.’
  5. 5Use 'on the left of' / 'on the right of' to say which side something is on — the textbook's example is: "The bowling alley is on the left of the park."

Practice

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