What is an adverb of location?

It is a where-word that pins a person or thing to a place without taking a noun after it: here, there, indoors, upstairs, nearby, abroad, somewhere. The spare winch is outdoors locates the winch. If a noun follows (behind the foundry), you have a preposition phrase instead.

How is a location adverb different from an adverb of place?

Place is the wider school-book label for any where-adverb. Location on this page means the still half of that set: occupancy, not path. The direction page takes the moving half. Upstairs in She is upstairs is location; upstairs in She ran upstairs is direction.

What is the difference between here and there?

Here is near the speaker. There is away from the speaker, or a place already mentioned. Come here asks someone to move towards you. Stay there asks them to remain where they are. Dummy there in There is a barge is not a location adverb at all.

When do I use somewhere and when anywhere?

Somewhere in an affirmative statement: I left the docket somewhere. Anywhere in questions and negatives: Is it anywhere in the barge? I didn't leave it anywhere. Nowhere is a negative on its own: It was nowhere obvious.

Can I start a sentence with here or there?

Yes, especially to point: Here is the docket. There stands the lock cottage. With a pronoun, keep statement order: Here it is. Do not confuse that pointing pattern with dummy there is, which introduces existence rather than pointing at a place.

English grammar · Beginner

Adverbs of Location: Here, Indoors, Upstairs, and Nearby

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

Adverbs of location tell you where something sits or stands: here, there, indoors, outdoors, upstairs, downstairs, nearby, abroad, overhead, underground, somewhere, nowhere. They locate a state, not a path. The neighbouring direction page covers movement (go in, walk north); this page covers the still picture (be in, wait here, live nearby).

The spare winch is outdoors, behind the foundry, and the docket is here on the hook.

outdoors and here locate things that are not moving

What it is

A location adverb answers where in the sense of occupancy. The spare winch is outdoors. Wait here. They live nearby. Nothing in those sentences is travelling; the adverb pins a person or thing to a spot. English also uses preposition phrases for the same job (behind the foundry, on the hook), and those phrases are not adverbs, because a noun follows the preposition. The adverb is the complete answer on its own.

The docket is here. The docket is on the hook. (Here is a location adverb. On the hook is a preposition plus a noun, more precise, not an adverb.)

How to spot it

Find be, stay, wait, live, remain, stand, or lie, then a where-word with no noun after it. If you can point at a still place, you have a location adverb. If the next word is a noun (in the foundry, on the harbour wall), you have a preposition of place. If the verb is go, come, send, or throw, look at the direction page instead.

The lock-keeper is upstairs. (upstairs locates a person)
We waited indoors until the squall passed. (indoors: inside, no noun)
The marina is nearby. (nearby: a short distance from here)
Nothing useful was anywhere in the cistern. (anywhere: indefinite location)

Somewhere, anywhere, nowhere, and everywhere are indefinite location adverbs. They still do not take a of-phrase in standard English: somewhere in the orchard, not somewhere of the orchard.

Adverbs of Location Quick Reference

Location adverbs by the kind of place they name

Kind of location	Typical words	Example
Near the speaker or not	here, there, over here, over there	The visor is here.
Inside or outside	indoors, outdoors, inside, outside, within	Wait indoors.
Vertical place	upstairs, downstairs, above, below, overhead, underground	The cistern is underground.
Distance	nearby, far away, abroad, overseas, locally	They live nearby.
Indefinite	somewhere, anywhere, nowhere, everywhere	I left the docket somewhere.
Home as a place	home, at home (phrase)	Is she home yet? We are at home.

Common Adverbs of Location Examples in English

Location is a still picture. Each group pins a subject to a kind of place:

Here and There

The visor is here on the hook.: here: near the speaker
Leave the spare winch there.: there: away from the speaker
Over here is drier than the jetty.: over here: a contrasting nearby spot
Stay right there until the lock fills.: right there: a precise pointed place

Here and there also work as goals after come and go (Come here). On this page they follow be, stay, wait, and leave.

Indoors, Outdoors, Upstairs

The foundry crew ate indoors.: indoors: inside a building
The spare winch is outdoors, behind the foundry.: outdoors: not inside
The lock-keeper is upstairs.: upstairs: on a higher floor
The cistern sits underground.: underground: below the surface

Inside and outside can take a noun (inside the foundry) and then stop being adverbs. Indoors and outdoors never take a noun.

Distance and Abroad

The marina is nearby.: a short distance from here
The quarry is far away.: a long distance
Two skippers live abroad now.: in another country
The millrace is locally famous.: locally: in this area

Abroad does not take in or to when it is a location after live or be: they live abroad, not they live in abroad.

Indefinite Places

I left the docket somewhere.: an unknown place
Is the visor anywhere in the barge?: anywhere in questions and negatives
The spare key was nowhere obvious.: nowhere: in no place
We looked everywhere above the lock.: everywhere: in all places

Some, any, no, every follow the same pattern as somewhere and someone. Use anywhere after a negative or in a question, not somewhere, unless you expect a yes.

How Adverbs of Location Work

A complete where-answer with no noun attached, sitting after the verb that locates.

They Locate a State, Not a Path

Be, stay, wait, live, remain, stand, lie, and sit take location adverbs. Go, come, send, throw, and drift take direction adverbs. Mixing the frames is how learners write We are to home and They went at the marina. Match the adverb to the verb's job.

We are here. We went there.

are plus location; went plus a goal that happens to use there

Still verb: location. Motion verb: direction.

No Noun Follows an Adverb

If a noun follows, you have a preposition of place plus its object: in the foundry, on the harbour wall, behind the orchard. The adverb is the whole answer: indoors, here, nearby. Some words do both (inside, outside, above, below). Apply the noun test every time.

Wait outside. Wait outside the foundry.

adverb; then preposition plus noun

Noun after it: not an adverb.

They Usually Follow the Verb

The unmarked place is after be or after the object of leave, keep, or put: The visor is here. Leave the winch there. Fronting is possible for emphasis (Here is the docket) and is required in a small inversion pattern with here and there plus be.

The docket is here. Here is the docket.

end position; then inversion with here plus be

After the verb, unless here or there fronts with be.

Indefinite Location Follows Some/Any/No/Every

Somewhere is for affirmative statements. Anywhere is for questions and negatives. Nowhere already carries the negative, so you do not add not. Everywhere means in all places. A more precise place can follow as a preposition phrase: somewhere in the orchard.

I left it somewhere. I didn't leave it anywhere. It was nowhere in the barge.

some in the yes-sentence, any after not, no as its own negative

Some yes, any after not, no already negative.

Common Mistakes with Adverbs of Location

Incorrect: They live in abroad now.

Correct: Two skippers live abroad now.

Abroad is already a location adverb. In abroad adds a preposition that has nothing to attach to. In another country is the preposition-plus-noun alternative.

Incorrect: I didn't leave the docket somewhere.

Correct: I didn't leave the docket anywhere.

After a negative, English switches some to any. Somewhere in a negative sounds as if you still have a particular place in mind.

Incorrect: Here is it.

Correct: Here it is.

Fronted here inverts with a full noun (Here is the docket) but not with a pronoun. The pronoun stays before be.

Incorrect: Wait outside the, then come.

Correct: Wait outside, then come in.

Outside as an adverb stands alone. If you start a preposition phrase, it needs its noun: outside the foundry. Mixing the two frames leaves a stranded the.

Here, There, and Inversion

Here and there can swap with the subject when the verb is be, and there is also the dummy subject of existence.

Here is, there is (pointing)

When here or there is fronted to point at something, be often inverts with a full noun subject: Here is the docket. There stands the lock cottage. A pronoun subject does not invert: Here it is, not Here is it.

Here is the docket.: here plus be plus a noun
Here it is.: pronoun keeps statement order
There goes the tram.: there plus a motion verb, pointing

This pointing there is not the same as dummy there in There is a barge on the millrace.

Dummy there is not a location adverb

There is and there are introduce existence. The location, if any, comes later as a preposition phrase.

There is a barge on the millrace.: dummy there, location in on the millrace
There are two visors on the hook.: plural verb with a plural noun
The barge is there on the millrace.: there as a true location adverb

If you can replace there with in that place and the sentence still means the same, it is the adverb. If you cannot, it is dummy there.

Quick Check: Adverbs of Location

Choose the location form that fits, or repair the sentence.

1. The marina is ___ (nearby / away).

Answer: nearby

still location, short distance

2. I didn't see the visor ___ in the barge. (somewhere / anywhere)

Answer: anywhere

any after a negative

3. ___ the docket. (Here is / Here it)

Answer: Here is

here plus be plus a noun, inverted

4. They live ___ (abroad / in abroad).

Answer: abroad

adverb, no in

5. Is she ___ yet? (home / to home)

Answer: home

location use of home after be, no to

Adverbs of Location FAQs

What is an adverb of location?: It is a where-word that pins a person or thing to a place without taking a noun after it: here, there, indoors, upstairs, nearby, abroad, somewhere. The spare winch is outdoors locates the winch. If a noun follows (behind the foundry), you have a preposition phrase instead.
How is a location adverb different from an adverb of place?: Place is the wider school-book label for any where-adverb. Location on this page means the still half of that set: occupancy, not path. The direction page takes the moving half. Upstairs in She is upstairs is location; upstairs in She ran upstairs is direction.
What is the difference between here and there?: Here is near the speaker. There is away from the speaker, or a place already mentioned. Come here asks someone to move towards you. Stay there asks them to remain where they are. Dummy there in There is a barge is not a location adverb at all.
When do I use somewhere and when anywhere?: Somewhere in an affirmative statement: I left the docket somewhere. Anywhere in questions and negatives: Is it anywhere in the barge? I didn't leave it anywhere. Nowhere is a negative on its own: It was nowhere obvious.
Can I start a sentence with here or there?: Yes, especially to point: Here is the docket. There stands the lock cottage. With a pronoun, keep statement order: Here it is. Do not confuse that pointing pattern with dummy there is, which introduces existence rather than pointing at a place.