What is an adverb of direction?

It is a word or short phrase that names the path of a movement: up, down, in, out, away, back, forward, north, left, home, downstairs. Come in and walk north tell you where to, not where at. Many of the same words also work as place adverbs when the verb is not a movement.

What is the difference between an adverb of direction and an adverb of place?

Direction tracks a path (She ran upstairs). Place locates something that is already there (She is upstairs). Away, back, and past are almost always direction. Nearby, here, and abroad are often place. When a word can do both, the verb decides.

Why do we say go home and not go to home?

Because home is an adverb of direction after verbs of motion, not a noun that needs a preposition. Go to the house and go to my house are the patterns with a noun. At home is a place phrase: We are at home.

Where do I put the adverb if there is an object?

A short direction word usually follows the object: Take the visor off. Hang it up. If the object is a pronoun, that order is required: take it off, not take off it. A longer phrase can sit at the end: We walked home along the millrace.

Are up, out, and off always adverbs of direction?

No. They are also particles in phrasal verbs, where the path meaning may have faded: give up, find out, put off. If you can still mime the path (hang up, take off, come back), treat the word as direction. If you cannot, look up the phrasal verb as a unit.

English grammar · Beginner

Adverb of Direction: Up, Away, Back, North, and Home

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

An adverb of direction tells you which way something moves: up, down, in, out, away, back, forward, backwards, north, left, home, downstairs, towards, past. It answers where to, not where at. That is the split from an adverb of place, which locates something that is already there (here, upstairs, nearby). Many of the same words do both jobs, and the verb decides which job you are looking at.

The barge drifted downstream, then the skipper turned it back towards the jetty.

downstream and back name the path of movement, not a static place

What it is

A direction adverb names a path. Come in, go away, walk north, climb up, drive past: the verb is a movement, and the adverb says which way. Some direction words never take a noun (away, back, home, downstairs). Others can take one and then behave as prepositions (towards the jetty, past the quarry). The teaching point is the path: if nothing is moving, you probably want a place adverb or a preposition of place instead.

The crates went down in the lift. The crates are downstairs. (Down is the path of the movement. Downstairs in the second sentence is where they now sit.)

How to spot it

Ask where to, not where. If the answer is a path (out, back, northwards, towards the marina), you have direction. If the answer is a location with no movement (here, upstairs, abroad), you have place. If a noun follows (into the foundry, onto the harbour wall), you have a preposition plus its object.

Stand back. (back: away from the speaker along a path)
The tram headed north. (north: a compass direction)
Bring the visor in. (in: into the space we occupy)
We walked home along the millrace. (home as a direction, no to)

Home is a direction adverb after verbs of motion (go home, walk home) and does not take to. To home is wrong in this sense. Toward and towards are both correct; towards is more common in British English.

Adverbs of Direction Quick Reference

Direction words by the kind of path they name

Kind of path	Typical words	Example
In and out	in, out, inside, outside	Come in. Stay out.
Up and down	up, down, upstairs, downstairs, above, below	Climb up. Look down.
Towards or away	back, away, off, forth, forward, backwards	Step back. Drive away.
Along a line	along, past, through, by, round	Walk past. Go through.
Compass and left/right	north, south, east, west, left, right, straight on	Turn left. Head west.
Goal without to	home, downtown, abroad (with go)	They went home. We're going abroad.

Common Adverbs of Direction Examples in English

Direction adverbs sit close to the verb of motion. Grouped by the path they name:

In, Out, Up, Down

The skipper waved us in.: in: into the lock
Take the visor off and hang it up.: off and up as paths
The stone went down the chute.: down naming the path of the stone
We climbed out onto the harbour wall.: out of the barge, then onto

Up and down can be place (the crates are up) or direction (send the crates up). A motion verb usually means direction.

Towards, Away, Back, Past

The barge drifted away from the jetty.: away plus from plus a noun
Turn back before the quarry gate.: back: reverse the path
A tram went past without stopping.: past as a path along the line
Walk towards the millrace, not away from it.: towards plus a noun

Away, back, and past often stand alone. Towards almost always wants a noun after it, so it is a preposition in that use.

Compass and Left or Right

The foundry stands north of the orchard.: north of: direction used to locate
Head west along the harbour wall.: west as the path of walking
Turn left at the tram depot.: left as a change of heading
Keep straight on until the lock cottage.: straight on: no change of heading

Northwards and northward add an extra -wards that some speakers prefer. North, south, east, and west work as adverbs on their own after go and head.

Home and Other Goal Words

We walked home along the millrace.: home, no to
Send the docket back.: back to its origin
They moved abroad for the foundry job.: abroad as the goal of moved
Bring the spare winch over.: over: to where the speaker is

Over, round, and across sit on the border of adverb and preposition. If a noun follows (over the wall), treat it as a preposition.

How Adverbs of Direction Work

Path, not location, and a short word-order rule after the object.

They Answer Where To

Place adverbs answer where something is. Direction adverbs answer where something is going. The same word can do both: She is upstairs (place), She ran upstairs (direction). Train yourself to check the verb. A stative or locative verb (be, stay, live, remain) wants place. A motion verb (go, come, walk, send, throw, drift) wants direction.

The crates are downstairs. Send the crates downstairs.

same word: location after are, path after send

Motion verb: think path.

They Sit After the Verb, or After the Object

The unmarked position is after the verb (Walk north. Come in.). If there is a direct object, a short direction adverb usually follows the object (Take the visor off. Hang it up.). A longer phrase can go at the end (We walked home along the millrace).

Bring the visor in. Don't bring in the visor if it is wet; bring it in later.

pronoun object must sit before the adverb: bring it in, not bring in it

Pronoun object, then the direction word.

Home Does Not Take To

After a verb of motion, home is an adverb: go home, come home, walk home, send someone home. To home is not English in this sense. To the house and to my house are the forms with a noun. At home is a place expression, not a direction: We are at home, not We go at home.

They went home. They are at home.

home as path; at home as location

Go home. Be at home.

Some Direction Words Are Also Prepositions

Up, down, in, out, past, through, round, off, and along can take a noun and then count as prepositions: up the chute, past the quarry, through the lock. Without a noun they remain adverbs: climb up, walk past, go through. The meaning of the path does not change; only the grammar label does.

Walk past. Walk past the quarry.

adverb alone; preposition plus noun

No noun: adverb. Noun after it: preposition.

Common Mistakes with Adverbs of Direction

Incorrect: We went to home along the millrace.

Correct: We walked home along the millrace.

Home after a verb of motion is an adverb and does not take to. To the house is the form you want if you need a noun.

Incorrect: Bring in it before the rain.

Correct: Bring it in before the rain.

A pronoun object must sit between the verb and the direction particle. Bring in the visor is fine, because the visor is a full noun phrase.

Incorrect: The crates are down in the lift right now, so send them are downstairs.

Correct: The crates went down in the lift, so they are downstairs now.

Down with a motion verb is the path. Downstairs with be is the location. Mixing the two frames produces a sentence that cannot be parsed.

Incorrect: Walk to towards the millrace.

Correct: Walk towards the millrace.

Towards already names the path. Adding to doubles the preposition. Go to the millrace is the alternative with to plus a noun.

Phrasal Verbs Built on Direction Words

Up, out, off, back, and away are also particles. Sometimes the path is still visible, and sometimes the meaning has moved.

Literal path still visible

Hang up, take off, come back, and go away still describe a direction. You can often mime the path.

Hang the visor up.: up: onto a hook
Take the visor off.: off: away from the head
Come back to the jetty.: back: return along the path

These still belong on a direction page. The particle can sit after a noun object: hang the visor up or hang up the visor.

Meaning no longer a path

Give up, find out, put off, and break down use the same little words without a spatial path. Treat those as phrasal verbs, not as direction adverbs.

We gave up on the quarry job.: gave up: stopped, not a path
She found out the millrace times.: found out: discovered
They put off the foundry inspection.: put off: postponed

If you cannot point in the direction the word names, you have left this page.

Quick Check: Adverbs of Direction

Choose the direction word, or repair the word order.

1. We walked ___ (home / to home) along the millrace.

Answer: home

home as an adverb, no to

2. Bring ___ before the rain. (in the visor / the visor in / in it)

Answer: the visor in (or bring it in)

noun object may follow or precede; pronoun must precede

3. The barge drifted ___ from the jetty. (away / nearby)

Answer: away

path increasing distance

4. Turn ___ at the tram depot. (left / here)

Answer: left

a change of heading

5. They are ___ home this evening. (at / to)

Answer: at

location, not path

Adverbs of Direction FAQs

What is an adverb of direction?: It is a word or short phrase that names the path of a movement: up, down, in, out, away, back, forward, north, left, home, downstairs. Come in and walk north tell you where to, not where at. Many of the same words also work as place adverbs when the verb is not a movement.
What is the difference between an adverb of direction and an adverb of place?: Direction tracks a path (She ran upstairs). Place locates something that is already there (She is upstairs). Away, back, and past are almost always direction. Nearby, here, and abroad are often place. When a word can do both, the verb decides.
Why do we say go home and not go to home?: Because home is an adverb of direction after verbs of motion, not a noun that needs a preposition. Go to the house and go to my house are the patterns with a noun. At home is a place phrase: We are at home.
Where do I put the adverb if there is an object?: A short direction word usually follows the object: Take the visor off. Hang it up. If the object is a pronoun, that order is required: take it off, not take off it. A longer phrase can sit at the end: We walked home along the millrace.
Are up, out, and off always adverbs of direction?: No. They are also particles in phrasal verbs, where the path meaning may have faded: give up, find out, put off. If you can still mime the path (hang up, take off, come back), treat the word as direction. If you cannot, look up the phrasal verb as a unit.