Unit 21 Location in Space: Place, Direction and Distance

1. Introduction
2. A Theoretical Framework for the Notions of Spatial Reference
2.1. Linguistic Levels Involved in the Notion of Spatial Reference
2.2. On Defining Spatial Reference: What and How
2.3. Grammar Categories: Open vs. Closed Classes
3. The Expression of Spatial Reference: An Introduction
3.1. Prepositions: Main Features
3.2. Spatial Reference in Terms of Other Grammatical Categories
3.3. A Classification of Prepositions: Main Functions
4. The Expression of Position
4.1. The notion of Simple Position
4.2. The Notion of Relative Position
4.3. Position and Direction
4.4. The Expression of Place by Other Means
5. The Expression of Direction
5.1. The Notion of Direction in Relation to Position
5.2. Main Types of Directional Prepositions
5.3. The Notion of Resultative Meaning
5.4. The Placing of Direction at Sentence Level
5.5. The Expression of Direction by Other Means
6. The Expression of Distance
6.1. The Notion of Distance
6.2. Main Type of Prepositions
6.3. The Expression of Distance by Other Means
7. Educational Implications
8. Conclusion
9. Bibliography

1. Introduction
This unit is primarily aimed to examine the different ways of expressing spatial reference in terms
of place, direction and distance, achieved by means of prepositions, and also by means of
prepositional complements drawn from adverbs, adjectives, noun phrases and other clause
structures. The study will be divided into nine main chapters. Chapter 2 provides a theoretical
framework for the notion of spatial reference, and I particular, of those grammatical categories
which are involved in it. Chapter 3 presents and defines the notion of spatial reference mainly
regarding prepositions, adverbs and other grammatical categories involved. Moreover,
prepositions are classified according to their three main functions: morphological; syntactic and
semantic. Chapter 4 offers a descriptive account of the expression of place position by analysing,
first, the notion of simple position (or absolute), in which we distinguish three types: at, in and on
type prepositions; second, we review the notion of relative position; third, the relationship between
position and direction; and finally, the expression of place by other means. Chapter 5 does the
same on the expression of direction by examining the notion of direction in relation to position,
main types of directional prepositions, among which we review direction, passage and relative
destination; then, we examine the notion of resultative meaning, the placing of direction at
sentence level, and how the expression of direction is carried out by other means. Chapter 6 on
the expression of distance starts by examining first, the notion of distance; second, the main type
of prepositions; and how other means rather than prepositions may also express distance.
Chapter 7 provides an educational framework for the expression of space localisation within the
current curriculum. Chapter 8 draws a conclusion from all the points involved in this study.
Chapter 9 will provide a list with the bibliography used in the unit.

2. A Theoretical Framework for the Notion of Spatial Reference

This introductory chapter aims at answering questions such as where the notion is to be found
within the linguistic level, what it describes and how and which grammar categories are involved in
its description at a functional level.
2.1. Linguistic Levels Involved in the Notion of Spatial Reference
The usual description of a language comprises four major components: phonology, grammar,
lexicon, and semantics, out of which we get five major levels: phonological, morphological and
syntactic, lexical and semantic.
First, the phonology describes the sound level, that is, consonants, vowels, stress, intonation, and
so on. Second, since the two most basic units of grammar are the word and the sentence, the
component of grammar involves the morphological level and the syntactic level. Third, the lexical
level lists vocabulary items, specifying how they are pronounced, how they behave grammatically,
and what they mean. Finally, the semantic level, to which all four of the major components are
related since a linguistic description which ignores meaning is obviously incomplete.
Each of the linguistic levels discussed above has a corresponding component when analysing the
notion under study. Phonology deals with pronunciation of prepositions (ex: out, onto, forward,
through, behind, etc.) and help distinguish prepositions from adverbs since prepositions normally
unstressed are accented when they are prepositional adverbs (ex: He stayed in the house vs. He
stayed in); morphology deals with compound words (ex: into, onto, etc.); and syntax deals with
which combinations of words constitute grammatical strings and which do not (ex: NOT – she
goes at school in bike BUT – she goes to school by bike). Lexis deals with the expression of
spatial reference regarding the choice between prepositional phrases or adverbial phrases (ex: He
works here vs. He works in this bank), lexical choices regarding different types of prepositions (ex:
on vs. above vs. over; opposite vs. in front of, and so on), the use of specific prepositions (ex:
upwards, onto, inside, etc.), and other means such as other formal realizations of these notions
(ex: a noun phrase, a verbless clause, a finite clause, etc.); and finally, semantics deals with
meaning where syntactic and morphological levels do not tell the difference (ex: He left the keys
on the table = on the surface and not inside a drawer).
2.2. On Defining Spatial Reference: What and How
On defining the term “spatial reference”, we must link this notion (what they are) to the grammar
categories which express it (how it is showed). The term “spatial reference” is intended to add
information about “where” a situation has happened, by providing details about “place”, “direction”
and “distance” to fully describe the action.
Following Traditional Grammar guidelines, prepositions are classified according to their main
semantic roles: space (position, direction, passage), time (position, duration), cause and purpose
and other relations, from which we will deal with those referring to spatial reference.
2.3. Grammar Categories: Open vs. Closed Classes
In order to confine the notion of spatial relations to particular grammatical categories, we must
review first the difference between open and closed classes. The open classes are verbs, nouns,
adjectives and adverbs, and are said to be unrestricted since they allow the addition of new
members to their membership, whereas the closed classes are the rest: prepositions,
conjunctions, articles (definite and indefinite), numerals, pronouns, quantifiers, and interjections,
which belong to a restricted class since they do not allow the creation of new members.
When expressing spatial relations, we are mainly dealing with prepositions that, when taken to
phrase and sentence level, may be substituted by other grammatical categories, in particular,
adverbial phrases, noun phrases and specific clause structures.

3. The Expression of Spatial Reference: An Introduction

In this introductory section, the expression of spatial reference will be first examined through the
category of prepositions, and I will offer a descriptive approach through other grammatical
categories related to it, which function as complements in prepositional structures, such as
adverbs, nouns and other grammatical structures like finite and non-finite clauses, idiomatic
expressions or verbless sentences as possible answers to the question of Where…?
Moreover, this study will be primarily based on the semantic field, since it is here where we find
the notion of prepositions of place, and it will lead us to the analysis of spatial reference in terms of
position, direction and distance.
3.1. Prepositions: Main Features
Following Quirk & Greenbaum, prepositions belong to the closed class items which first, are
formally invariable and second, connect two units in a sentence, specifying a relationship between
them (ex: place, time, instrument, cause, etc.). The former of these two units is often a noun,
adjective or verb, and the latter, normally represented by a prepositional complement, is a noun or
any other phrase similar to it, such as pronouns (ex: This is a present for him), nominalized
adjectives (ex: He fought against the most intelligent), nominalized adverbs (ex: We observed him
from here), infinitives (ex: He ran to win) and noun phrases (ex: A man in the front row).
3.2. Spatial Reference in Terms of Other Grammatical Categories
Prepositions denoting spatial reference may be represented by means of other categories within a
larger linguistic structure to modify verbs, adjectives and nouns. Prepositions function as head in a
prepositional phrase structure, and that prepositional phrases in turn have a variety of functions
related to other grammatical categories, for instance, within the structure of a verbal phrase, noun
phrase, adjectival phrase, adverbial phrase, a larger prepositional phrase, or at sentence level,
functioning as a connector (disjuncts: however, although, because, due to, etc.).
Virtually, all prepositions can occur as head in phrases functioning as adjuncts, that is, modifiers in
verbal phrases (ex: in the morning) or peripheral dependent in a sentence (ex: In my view, you are
right).
I will briefly examine the expression of spatial reference in terms of other grammatical categories.
(1) Another kind of expression which can function like a prepositional phrase is an adverb or
adverbial phrase, and which behaves like a preposition with ellipted complement. Fr
example: “A car drove past the door” where “past” is a preposition vs. “A car drove past”
where “past” is a prepositional adverb meaning “something or someone identified in the
context”.
(2) Another kind of syntactic structure involves clause subordination, where we find different
types regarding verbs. (a) The more nuclear dependents of the verb, subject in clause
structure and complement in verbal structure, which are prototypically filled by noun
 phrases (ex: in the street, after two hours); (b) prepositional phrases are mainly either of
place (ex: at home), direction (ex: to school) or time (ex: at night); (c) complements to
prepositional verbs where the verb selects from a handful of short prepositions (ex: ask for,
consist of, depend on, hope for); (d) non-finite verb clauses (infinitival clauses) which
function as modifier of the verbal phrase, and in which the verb is (i) an infinitive, as in “I
was surprised to hear her opinion; and (ii) a present participle -ing, as in “I was surprised at
her saying this”. Also, we may find (e) a noun phrase (ex: I was surprised at the financial
estimates) or (f) a wh-phrase (ex: I was surprised at what he said).
Furthermore, (g) we also find place conjuncts, which denote static position and also
direction, movement, and passage under the general term “direction”. Place adjuncts are
mainly realized by means of prepositional phrases (ex: in the park, out of my house, etc.).
And finally, (h) we must not forget that idioms constitute that “free process f forming lexical
lexemes” which permit grammatical contrasts (ex: What about…?/ it’s up to you/it’s over/Eat
it up).
3.3. A Classification of Prepositions: Main Functions
Prepositions are classified according to their main functions, which correspond to three main
types: (1) the morphological function, by which prepositions are simple or complex; (2) the
syntactic function, which is related to the structure of prepositional phrases and word order of
prepositional phrases at the sentence level; and finally, (3) the semantic function, which is related
to intrinsic aspects of prepositions, for our purposes, how to express position, direction and
distance.
The Morphological Function
The open class “preposition” is, the most common repository for the expression of spatial
reference (ex: position: in, on, at, above, under; direction: to, from, along, up, down; and distance:
near, next to, away from, after 2 km) together with adverbial phrases (ex: towards, on top of, etc.).
Morphologically speaking, we may distinguish two types of prepositions: simple, which consist of
one word (ex: at, between, by, from, in, on, up) and complex, which are multi-word combinations
(ex: in front of, next to, out of).
Simple Prepositions
With respect to simple prepositions, most of the common English prepositions are monosyllabic
items, such as at, in, on, to, from, typically unstressed and often with reduced vowel except when
deferred. “Deferred” prepositions are a term coined by Quirk & Greenbaum which refers to those
prepositions which do not precede their complements but are placed after them (ex: Where are
you from?)
Complex Prepositions
Some of the compound prepositions were formed historically from the monosyllabic ones (ex:
inside, outside, within, into, onto, etc.) or derived from participles (ex: during, concerning, granted)
or adopted from other languages (ex: despite, except, etc.).
The number of prepositions has been increased by mainly combining prepositions with other
words to form “complex prepositions”, among which we find three main categories: (a) a simple
preposition preceded by an adverb or preposition (adverb/preposition + preposition), as in
“through along, away from, out of, up to, etc.”; (b) a simple preposition preceded by a participle,
adjective, or conjunction (participle/adjective/conjunction + preposition), as in “owing to, due to,
because of”; and (c) a simple preposition followed by a noun and then a further simple preposition
(prep + noun + prep), as in “by means of, in front of, with respect to, on behalf of, etc.”.
The Syntactic Function
Regarding the syntactic function, prepositions play their role within a larger linguistic structure to
modify verbs, adjectives, and nouns by means of other categories. Consequently, in order to
examine the expression of spatial reference through them I will review the notion of prepositional
phrase and then, the different types of syntactic organization (adposition vs. postposition) by
means of which word order is established within the structure of the prepositional phrase.
The Structure of the Prepositional Phrase
The structure of prepositional phrase is that of preposition + prepositional complement (ex: at +
the bus stop, from + what he said, by + cleaning the window) which is characteristically a noun
phrase or a wh-clause or present participle (-ing) clause. Their head phrases usually function as
dependents of verbs, nouns and adjectives and this is why this sequence is known as a
prepositional phrase.
This structure is determined by its two functions: prepositional and prepositional complement. This
means the constituent realizing the former (in) governs the one realizing the latter (in Paris)
Adposition vs. Postposition Types
Normally a preposition must be followed by its complement, but there are some circumstances in
which this does not happen. This is reviewed under the heading of: ad-position and postposition.
(1) Ad-position, that is, prepositions preceding their complements, are usually placed after the
predicate or in final position when expressing spatial relations (ex: at, in, on, under,
opposite, from, through + the car).
(2) The other type is postposition, that is, when prepositions are placed after their complement,
either because the complement has to take first position in the clause, or because it is
absent. That postposition is referred to as “deferred prepositions” by Quirk (ex: I should
have parked the car opposite the house and not in front).
This detachment of the two immediate constituents of a prepositional phrase may take place in the
following cases, which are optional since they depend chiefly on stylistic preference:
(a) In WH – questions, where WH- interrogative pronouns function as constituents
(prepositional complements) of sentences. When the sentence is simple, it is either
interrogative (ex: Where are you travelling to?) or exclamatory (ex: What a beautiful place
you are travelling to!).
Some simple prepositions (ex: through) and most complex ones (ex: in front of),
postposition is not allowed.
(b) In WH – clauses, where WH- clauses with postposed prepositions can fulfil most of the
major sentence functions. These nominal relative clauses are always introduced by a wh-
element functioning as subject (ex: Where he is travelling to is a touristic place), object
complement (ex: You can go whatever place you want to), or prepositional complement (ex:
Where they are staying in is not cheap) or (ex: I do not know where to go to).
(c) In Relative clauses, a preposition placed before which/whom (ex: the friend with which I
travelled to Ireland) can be moved to the end of the sentence, but the relative pronoun is
often omitted (ex: The friend I travelled with).
(d) Passive constructions, (ex: They have paid for the meal vs. The meal has been paid for).
(e) Where the prepositional complement is realized in Finite and Non-Finite clauses, that is,
functioning respectively as postmodifier in sentences with noun and adjective phrases, or
sentences with infinitives or -ing clauses. Thus, on finite clauses with noun phrases:
 “Marbella, a nice place to go to, is crowded now”; on adjective phrases: “She was not sure
who to ask for”.
Main Syntactic Functions
Following Quirk, the main syntactic functions of prepositional phrases regarding spatial reference
are:
(1) As adjuncts (ex: the children were swimming in the swimming pool.
(2) As attitudinal disjuncts (ex: in view of)
(3) As conjuncts (ex: As far as I am concerned, this report is excellent)
(4) As postmodifier in a noun phrase (ex: The boys on the bus were singing)
(5) As complements of a verb (ex: it depends on you)
(6) As complements of an adjective (ex: Anne is so different from her sister)
(7) Other functions as the nominal one, functioning as subject of a sentence (ex: Between and
eleven will suit me)
Spatial Reference at Sentence Level
The position of spatial reference at the sentence level is relevant to know where to place it. It is not
sensible to stablish strict rules regarding spatial reference position since it may be submitted to
changes under the influence of emphasis, question structures, and old/new information. We may
distinguish two different types of considerations: (1) general and (2) particular cases.
General Considerations
The placing of prepositions may vary depending on specific syntactic and semantic guidelines but
generally, word order is normally determined by the syntactic function, that is, depending on the
grammatical element it complements. Thus, on complementing a verb, it is placed after it (ex:
They worked in the field all day); on complementing an adjective/adverb, it is placed after (ex:
worried about you); and, on complementing a sentence by means of an adverbial/prepositional
phrase; it has final position (ex: They will go to Vigo tomorrow). It is quite common that a phrase of
place comes before time (ex: She came here (place) last night (time)).
Particular Cases
When dealing with particular cases, we mainly deal with prepositions in initial or final position due
to specific syntactic changes at the sentence level. Thus, we distinguish three main cases:
(1) Prepositions can go in front position in WH- questions and exclamations, where WH-
interrogative pronouns function as prepositional complements of sentences (ex: Where are
you travelling to?) or exclamatory (ex: What a beautiful place you are travelling to!).
(2) In relative clauses, where the preposition placed before Which/Who(m) (ex: the friend with
which I travelled to England) can be moved to the end of the sentence. In these cases, the
relative pronoun is often omitted (ex: the friend I travelled with).
(3) Where the prepositional complement is used in finite clauses, that is, functioning
respectively as postmodifier of noun, pronoun, or adjective phrases. On finite clauses with
noun phrases: “It was a very nice house to live in”; with pronouns: “There is nowhere to go
to”; and with adjective phrases: “Christine is impossible to talk to”.
The Semantic Function
Semantically speaking, there are various types of relational meanings among which place and
time (here and now) are said to be the most prominent ones and easy to identify.
The Spatial Reference
 The term “spatial reference” may provide details about “position”, “direction” and “distance” by
addressing a wide range of prepositions with reference to points in space (ex: in, on, at, etc.), lines
of passage (ex: across, over, along, etc.), surface /ex: on, through, onto, etc.), area (ex: inside,
outside, in, out, etc.), volume (ex: through, under, behind, etc.), direction (ex: to, from, towards,
etc.), movement (ex: through, past, across, etc.), among others.
Basic Spatial Dimensions
Positive Negative
direction position direction position
Dimension to at (away) away
Type 0 from from
(point) X  X X X 

Dimension on(to) on off Off

Type 1 / 2
(line or  
surface)

Dimension in(to) in out of out of

Type 2 / 3
(area or  
volume)

When we use a preposition to indicate place, we do so in relation to the dimensional properties of

the location concerned. Consider the following examples:
- My car is at the cottage
- There is a new roof on the cottage
- There are two beds in the cottage
The use of at makes cottage a dimensionless location, a mere point in relation to which the car’s
position can be indicated. With on, the cottage becomes a two dimensional area, covered by a
roof, though on is also capable of use with a one-dimensional object, as in “Put your signature on
this line”. With in the cottage becomes the three-dimensional object which in reality it is, though in
is capable of being used with objects which are essentially two-dimensional, as in “The cow is in
the field”, where field is conceived of as an enclosed space (contrast “we walked on the beach”).
The previous figure sets out the dimensional orientation of the chief prepositions of place.
The Notions of Position, Direction and Distance
Once we have examined the very origin of the expression of spatial reference, and set out the
dimensional orientation of the chief prepositions of place (at, on, in) regarding mere position,
line/surface, and area/volume, we are ready for analysing position, direction and distance
individually.

4. The Expression of Position

The expression of position, traditionally named “place” is mainly realized by prepositions, simple
(at, in, on) and complex (all around, apart from, as far as, all over) and prepositional phrases (on
top of, next to, out of) but also by other grammatical types, such as adverbs (towards, outdoors,
indoors), adverbial phrases (conjuncts: as far as I know), noun phrases (in the house), or even
idioms (over and over again).
The expression of position is usually placed in final position but normally before the expression of
time. In this section I will provide a general overview on this notion: (1) the notion of simple
position and its main prepositions: at, in, on; (2) the notion of relative position; (3) the relationship
between position and direction, and (4) the expression of place by other means rather than
prepositions.
4.1. The Notion of Simple Position
The notion of simple position is brought about by the main prepositions which establish the spatial
dimension (at, in, on) since position and dimension-types 0, 1 / 2 and 2 / 3 are related. The notion
of simple position refers to static location, as in “Mike was at the door/on the floor/in the water”,
where places are regarded as points on a route or as institutions to which one is attached (ex: at
Harvard University). A prepositional phrase of “position” can accompany any verb, although the
meaning is usually static, as with the verbs “to be, stay, study, work, etc.”.
We distinguish three main types of prepositions regarding position or place, which are also named
dimension-type prepositions. We find (1) at-type prepositions, (2) in-type prepositions and (3) on-
type prepositions.
At-Type Prepositions
At-type prepositions are applied when we refer to a small area such as a square, a street, a room
meaning “at this point” rather than “inside”, since “at” expresses position (ex: she was at the
doctor’s). It is related to dimension-type 0, for instance, we can be “at a building”, which means
that we are inside, in the grounds or just outside. If we are “at the sea” we are “near/beside the
sea” whereas “at sea” means “on a ship”.
In-Type Prepositions
In-type prepositions (into, inside) normally indicate position as well as movement (ex: Position “He
was in the office vs. He came in the office), and usually opposed to “on” since they refer to volume
and surface respectively (ex: in the table=inside vs. on the table=on the surface). “In” refers to
places, such as a country, a town, a village, a square, a street, a room, a forest or any place which
has boundaries or is enclosed.
“In” may be used with the verb “put”, either “in” or “into” (ex: he put his hands in/into his pockets).
“In” may be also an adverb (ex: Come in!=enter; get in the car=into the car). It may be also used
with common expressions (ex: in hospital, in church), though if we add the article “the” (ex: in the
hospital) we are not talking about that place about what normally happens there but something
unusual (ex: visiting, delivering flowers).
On-Type Prepositions
“On” prepositions are used for both position and movements, as in “He was sitting on his chair” or
“The cat jumped on(to) the roof”. “Onto” is used with people or animals when a change of level is
implied (ex: We lifted her onto the table). “On” can also be an adverb, as in “Go on! Or Come on!”.
IN general, “on” is used (a) when we talk about a horizontal or vertical surface (ex: on the car) in
opposition to “in” that indicates volume (ex: in the car); (b) with any kind of line (ex: on the border,
on the coast); (c) with machines (ex: on the radio, on TV, on the phone); with directions, specially
with “right” and “left” (ex: Turn on the right/left).
4.2. The Notion of Relative Position
Certain prepositions may express relative position of two objects or groups of objects, that is,
indicate the position of something in relation to the position of something else, often by means of
contrastive pairs, such as “above vs. below”; in front of vs. behind; beneath vs. underneath. For
instance, “above” and “below” are “over vs. “under” respectively, though the latter is said to mean
“directly above” and “directly below”. “Over” and “above” usually have the same meaning (higher
than) and imply “not touching the surface”. With “on top of” we combine the sense of above with
touching. However, “over” can also mean “covering”, as in (ex: She put a scarf over her
shoulders). With “between”, we positionally relate two objects or groups of objects, whereas with
“among” we are dealing with a more general plurality, and we do not see things or people
separately (ex: she left the red dress among her dirty clothes). The opposite of “between” and
“among” is to some extent expressed by “around” (AmE) and “round” (BrE), as in “There were
some crocodiles around the river” vs. “There was a crocodile among the bushes”.
4.3. Position and Direction
The notions of position and direction, static and movable respectively, have a cause-and-effect
relation which applies equally to both positive and negative prepositions (ex: in vs. out, to vs. from,
and so on). Therefore, where places are regarded as points of route or institutions to one is
attached, we use dimension-type 0 (ex: at the traffic lights, at Oxford University).
The places which are thought of in terms of residence, require the dimension-type 2/3, as in “She
has never lived in Paris or London”. If the referent is considered as a surface, dimension-type ½ is
appropriate (ex: They were swimming on Lake Victoria) whereas if it is considered as enclosing,
then dimension-type 2/3 comes into play (ex: they were swimming in Lake Victoria).
The contrast between “on” (surface, dimension-type ½) and “in” (area, dimension-type 2/3) has
various implications according to the context, as in “on the island” (as an uninhabited island) vs. “in
the island” (an institutional identity).
In addition to the prepositions mentioned, against, about and around are commonly used as
prepositions of simple position or destination: “against” in the sense “touching the side surface of”
(ex: She is leaning against the wall); “about” and “around” in the sense of “in the vicinity of” (ex:
She’s been wandering about/around the place all day). Two additional meanings of “on” as a
preposition of position are “attached to” (ex: the lemons on the tree).
It is worth mentioning that the use of “at, in, on” is often idiomatic; thus “on earth” but “in the
world”. Similarly, “on land, at sea, in the air”.
4.4. The Expression of Place by Other Means
Apart from prepositions, it is possible to express “spatial reference” by other means:
(1) Adverbs (ex: Madonna is here; the apartment above) and adverbial phrases (ex; as
adjunct: On the shelf would be the best place; disjunct: From my point of view, it would be
placed on the shelf; or conjunct: As far as I know).
(2) Linking as complement to other closed categories, such as prepositional verbs (verb +
preposition), as in “come from”, “travel to”, “listen to” and so on.
(3) Noun phrases (ex: in the street, after two hours), where prepositional phrases are mainly
either of place (ex: at home), direction (ex: to school) or distance (ex: away from me)
(4) Place conjuncts, which denote static position and also direction, movement, and passage
under the general term “direction”. Place adjuncts are mainly realized by means of
prepositional phrases (ex: in the park, out of my house) since these roles can be clearly
specified through the respective prepositional meaning (ex: in-out, from-to, up-down,
through) although sometimes we need noun phrases to amplify meaning (ex: a very long
way, several miles away).
(5) Idiomatic expressions, where prepositions are used but not with their literal meaning, as in
“What about…?, It’s up to you, It’s over, What are you up to?, time is up, he’s well off”
 5. The Expression of Direction
In this section I will provide a general overview on the notion of direction: (1) the notion of direction
in relation to position; (2) its main types and prepositions; (3) the notion of resultative meaning; (4)
the placing of direction at sentence level, and (5) the expression of direction by other means rather
than prepositions.
5.1. The Notion of Direction in Relation to Position
According to Quirk & Greenbaum, the notion of direction, also named “movement” is mainly
realized by almost all those prepositions regarding position since the notions of directional
movement and static position have a cause – and – effect relation, from where something is
(position) to where it is going (destination). For example: “Jane ran to the front door and then
stood at the front door” in which the former verb is one of movement whereas the latter is of static
position.
Directional prepositions may be simple (ex: in, into, above, down, up, etc.) and complex (ex: all
along, all through, right across, etc.), and the expression of direction is not only carried out by
prepositions or prepositional phrases (ex: above, under, out of, up in the hill, etc.), but also by
other grammatical types, such as adverbs both for position and direction (ex: away, back, below,
elsewhere, near, here, over, past, up, within), and adverbs which denote direction only (ex: aside,
backwards, forwards, upwards, etc.), adverbial phrases (ex: from my window), noun phrases (ex:
ten kilometres), or even idioms (ex: Here we go, here you are, over here over there).
Directional expressions are used only with verbs of motion r with other dynamic verbs that allow a
directional meaning, as in “He jumped over the fence”. However, some directional adverbial
phrases are also used with the verb “to be”, but with a resultative meaning, indicating the state of
having reached the destination (ex: He dived in the water. In colloquial English “on” and “in” may
be used for both position and destination, as in “He fell on the floor”.
5.2. Main Types of Directional Prepositions
The notion of direction is directly brought about by the main types of directional prepositions which
establish the spatial movements (ex: by, over, under, across, through, past, up, down, along,
around, beyond).
So far, direction is expressed by a group of prepositions which convey the meaning of movement
with reference to different types of “motion”. In general usage, we distinguish several types of
directional prepositions regarding movement or destination with respect to (1) direction, (2)
passage, and (3) relative destination.
Direction
Direction implies an orientation point from the place the speaker is situated. Note that difference
between “(coming) up the road” and “(going) down the road” may have more to do with personal
orientation rather than with relative elevation. Just as verbs like “come” and “go” may strongly
imply personal orientation, so others are congruent with prepositional meaning, even to the extent
of enabling the preposition to be omitted, as in “climb (up), jump (over), pass (by), and so on.
These orientation points indicating direction will be set out in an imaginary axis or directional line,
with a vertical and a horizontal axis. On the horizontal axis, we would find those prepositions which
indicate, on the one hand, the notion of “from one end towards the other”, such as “from…to,
along, past, towards, etc.”, as in “the dwarfs went across the moor”. Note that “around” implies a
directional path in an angle or curve, such as a corner or a centre, as in “The chemist’s is just
round the corner”.
On the vertical axis we would find the notion of “vertical direction”, and therefore, prepositions
indicating a relative elevation, increasing or decreasing, like “up and down”, as in “There is
someone walking up and down the road”. It is worth noting that “up” and “down” are also used
idiomatically in reference to a horizontal axis, as in “Anxiously, she walked up and down the
platform”. Here, “up” and “down” express the notion of “along” and do not have any vertical
implications.
Passage
The notion of passage combines prepositions of position and motion, for instance, “on the grass”
(position) vs. “across the grass” (motion) but disregards prepositions of destination. Other
prepositions commonly used for passage are “by, over, under, across, and past”. It is worth noting
the parallel between positional “on” and “in” on the one hand and “across” and “through” on the
other.
Spatial relations regarding passage have more to do with motion at a horizontal level, depending
on where the speaker is situated since it implies “somewhere from where I am speaking” or “from
the place I am speaking about”. For instance, the pair “on the grass vs. across the grass” treat the
grass as a surface, and therefore suggest short grass. On the other hand, the pair “in the grass vs.
through the grass” suggest that the grass has height as well as length and breadth, that is, that by
treating the grass as a volume, we understand that is long.
Relative Destination
As well as relative position, the following prepositions: “by, over, under, etc.” except for “above”
and “below”, can express relative destination since most prepositions of relative position can also
be used f relative direction and destination; for example, “The fox scampered under a bush and
disappeared”. Here “under” has a distinct use from that denoting passage, as in “He walked under
the bridge”.
5.3. The Notion of Resultative Meaning
Directional expressions are used only with verbs of motion r with other dynamic verbs that allow a
directional meaning, as in “He jumped over the fence”. However, some directional adverbial
phrases are also used with the verb “to be”, but with a resultative meaning, indicating the state of
having reached the destination (ex: He dived in the water. In colloquial English “on” and “in” may
be used for both position and destination, as in “He fell on the floor”.
5.4. The Placing of Direction at Sentence Level
Directional expressions are normally placed in final position (ex: “I’ll meet you downstairs, we are
moving all the furniture into our new house next week”) and normally, before the expression of
time.
When position and directional prepositional phrases co-occur in the sentence, position normally
follow directional expression in final position. For instance, “The children are running around
(direction) upstairs (position)”. Moreover, position can be moved to initial position to avoid giving it
end focus: “Upstairs the children are running around”. However, when directional expressions are
juxtaposed in the sentence, their order depends on the verb meaning, for instance, ”They drove
down the road to the city centre”.
Initial position is more unusual, but happens in certain situations. The earlier event would be
placed in initial position, as in “And then from Venice the party proceeded to Rome”. Some
directional expressions are put initially to convey a dramatic impact, and normally co-occur with a
verb in the simple present (ex: “Away she goes”) or simple past (ex: “On they marched”). If the
subject is not a pronoun but a noun, subject-verb inversion is normal in initial position “ex: “Away
goes the bride”). A few other expressions occur in informal speech, mainly with “go, come, and
get” in either the imperative with the retain subject “you” or in the simple present. For instance, “In
the bath you go”; “Here I/we go”, and so on.
5.5. The Expression of Direction by Other Means
Direction can be expressed by means of:
(1) Adverbs and adverbial phrases. (ex: Madonna is here; the apartment above) and adverbial
phrases (ex; as adjunct: On the shelf would be the best place; disjunct: From my point of
view, it would be placed on the shelf; or conjunct: As far as I know).
(2) The sequence verb + preposition, where the directional prepositions function as a
complement to the verb (ex: “I lifted it up/He comes from Ireland”). Verbs like “come” and
“go” imply different orientation depending on the preposition following (ex: come up, come
down), we find certain verbs where the preposition is likely to be omitted, as in “climb (up),
jump (over), pass (by)” and so on.
(3) Noun phrases (ex: ten yards, eight kilometers), where prepositional phrases are mainly
either of direction (ex: to school), passage (ex: past the church), or distance (ex: away from
me).
(4) Idiomatic expressions, where prepositions are used but not with their literal meaning, as in
“Here you are” meaning “this is for you”; “Here we are” meaning “someone has arrived at
the expected place”.

6. The Expression of Distance

In this section I will examine the notion of distance by (a) the notion of distance; (b) the main type
of prepositions, and (c) the expression of distance by other means.
6.1. The Notion of Distance
The notion of distance answers the question “How far…?” The expression of distance is brought
about by the notion od “measure” since we will answer in terms of “amount of” yards, miles,
kilometers, inches and also by other grammatical expressions, such as “a long way away” or “after
two kilometers”.
6.2. Main Type of Prepositions
The notion of distance is generally realized by just a few prepositions (ex: away from, outside, next
to near, from).
Three points of reference are established, first, the one from which the speaker is talking, second,
the point at which the speaker makes reference in the distance, and the third element refers to the
personal measure the speaker makes of the distance between the two points (ex: “I think the post
office is two yards away”).
Thus, we may say “He lives across the river” (0from here) or “The village past the next bus-stop”
(=from where we are now). Moreover, the prepositions “up, down, along, across and around” are
used orientationally with reference to an axis and subjected to paraphrasing, for instance, “The
shop down the road” (=towards the bottom end of the street).
6.3. The Expression of Distance by Other Means
The expression of distance may be answered not only by prepositions or prepositional phrases
(ex: along the street) but also by other means, such as:
 (1) Adverbs and adverbial phrases (ex: away, extremely far away), in which case the notion of
distance can share realizations with position (ex: near, in the corner of, etc.) and direction
(ex: three kilometers from here).
(2) The sequence verb + preposition where the directional prepositions function as a
complement of the verb (ex: North Europe is far from here).
(5) Noun Phrases (ex: ten yards, eight kilometers), where prepositional phrases are mainly
either of direction (ex: to school), passage (ex: past the church), or distance (ex: away from
me).

7. Educational Implications
The various aspects of the expression of spatial reference, that is, position, direction and distance
dealt with in this study are relevant to the learning of the vocabulary of a foreign language since
differences between the vocabulary of the learner’s native language (L1) and that of the foreign
language (L2) may lead to several problems, such as the incorrect use of place adjuncts
expressions, especially because of the syntactic, morphological and semantic processes implied
in these categories.
This study has looked at the expressions of place prepositions within lexical semantics,
morphology and syntax to establish a relative similarity between the two languages that Spanish –
speaking students would find useful for learning English if these connections were brought to their
attention.
According to Thomson and Martinet a student may find especially troublesome the use of
prepositions when communicating in English since, first, he has to know whether in any
construction a preposition is required or not (ex: “He helped the old lady to carry the bags, and
NOT: He helped to the old lady…”) and, second, which preposition to use when one is required
(ex: The plane was flying above/on/over the field).
The choice becomes problematic for students when they try to find a certain construction in his
own language which requires a preposition whereas a similar one in English does not, for
instance, to express purpose, that is, preposition + infinitive (ex: para comer = for eat) whereas in
English it is expressed by the infinitive only (ex: to eat).
It has been suggested that a methodology grounded in part in the application of explicit linguistic
knowledge enhances the second language learning process.
The expression of spatial reference implying the use of the discussed prepositions has been
considered an important element of language teaching because of its high frequency in speech.
So far, I have attempted in this discussion to provide a broad account of the expression of spatial
reference to set it up within the linguistic theory, going through the location of place adjuncts in
syntactic structures and finally a brief presentation of the main prepositions under study. The idea
is to state the relevance of handling correctly the expression of place adjuncts in everyday
communication.

8. Conclusion
Although the question Where are you going tonight? May appear simple, they imply a broad
description of the place you are going to, so students must be able to describe things within a
spatial frame using the appropriate prepositions according to their characteristics.
In this study we provided a descriptive account of Spatial Reference, whose main aim was to
introduce the student to the different ways of expressing position, direction and distance in
English.
In doing so, the study provided a broad account of the notion of spatial reference, starting by a
theoretical framework to get some key terminology on the issue. Once presented, we discussed
how prepositions, adverbs and other syntactic constructions also reflected this notion.
Lexical items and vocabulary, and therefore, the expression of place prepositions, is currently
considered to be a central element in communicative competence and in the acquisition of a
second language since students must be able to use these prepositions in their everyday life in
many situations.

9. Bibliography
 Council of Europe (1998) Modern Langua A Common European Framework of Reference.
 Quirk & Greenbaum, A University Grammar of English
 Thomson, A.J. & Martinet, A.V. A Practical English Grammar
 Leech & Svartvik, A Communicative Grammar of English