Using Prepositions to Specify Place with Accuracy in the English Language

Using Prepositions to Specify Place with Accuracy

Prepositions are some of the shortest and most frequently used words in English, yet they are also some of the most important—especially in academic and scientific writing. When you describe where an object, instrument, participant or institution is located, you are relying on a network of small words such as IN, ON, AT, UNDER and BETWEEN. If these prepositions are chosen carelessly or mechanically, the resulting sentences can sound odd, confuse readers or misrepresent your research procedures. When they are chosen well, the description of place becomes precise, natural and easy to follow.

Grammatically, a preposition typically works together with a noun, pronoun or noun phrase, which is called its complement or object. Together, the preposition and its complement form a prepositional phrase. This phrase then functions like an adjective or an adverb, modifying other parts of the sentence: a noun (the samples IN the freezer), a verb (were stored IN the freezer), an adjective (different FROM the control group) or even another adverb. Although prepositions themselves do not change form—they are non-inflected—their correct use is far from automatic, particularly for authors whose first language is not English.

In this article, we focus on how prepositions are used to express place. We will look at typical patterns with key prepositions of position, height and proximity, and we will highlight common problems that arise in academic contexts. To make the examples clear, the prepositions under discussion will be written in BLOCK CAPITALS (for example, “IN the laboratory,” “ON the surface,” “AT the university”). These capitals are for illustration only and would not be appropriate in normal scholarly prose.

Prepositions and Their Complements

The word “preposition” itself offers a useful reminder: it signals something that is typically placed before something else. In English, prepositions usually come immediately before their complements: IN the test tube, ON the slide, AT the university. This basic word order helps learners remember that the preposition introduces the relationship and the following phrase specifies what is located where.

In academic writing, these relationships are rarely decorative. They often determine how a method should be replicated or how a setting should be interpreted. For example, there is a clear difference between placing sensors ON the skin versus IN the tissue, or situating a field study IN the region versus AT the border. Choosing the wrong preposition can therefore blur methodological accuracy.

Surfaces, Containers and Points: ON, IN and AT

Three of the most common prepositions of place in English are ON, IN and AT. They are sometimes taught as near-synonyms, but each has its own typical uses and associated mental images.

ON – Surfaces and Contact

We generally use ON to describe things that are in contact with a surface:

• The samples are ON the top shelf of the refrigerator.
• The microscope slide is ON the stage.
• The annotations appear ON the last page of the manuscript.

Here, ON suggests contact with a relatively flat or identifiable surface: a desk, a shelf, a table, a page. In more abstract uses, it can also indicate presence on a platform or medium, such as ON the website or ON the map.

IN – Enclosed Spaces and Containers

IN typically suggests an interior or enclosed space, with a sense of containment:

• The reagent is stored IN a sealed container.
• Participants were tested IN the laboratory.
• The data are archived IN a secure database.

The space can be physical (a room, a box, a country) or abstract (a section, a category, a domain): IN the introduction, IN the medical literature, IN the field of linguistics. When you say “the book is IN her office,” you highlight the office as a containing space. When you say “the book is ON her office desk,” you emphasise its location on a specific surface inside that office.

AT – Points, Places and Institutions

AT is often used for points or locations that we treat as fixed places, especially buildings, institutions or events:

• She is AT the library, working on her thesis.
• The conference will be held AT the university.
• The participants arrived AT the main entrance.

While IN the library emphasises being inside the building, AT the library emphasises the location as a point on a map or as an institutional setting. Both can be correct; the choice depends on what you wish to highlight. In a methods section, for instance, you might write “Data collection took place AT the university hospital” to identify the institution, or “Interviews were conducted IN a private room” to refer to the physical space.

A single context may allow more than one preposition. The book is still ON her office desk, but she is already AT the library contrasts the position of the object (ON a surface) with the location of the person (AT a place). Likewise, “the book is still IN her office, but she is IN the library” stresses that both are contained within different buildings.

Higher and Lower: UNDER, BELOW, OVER and ABOVE

Prepositions also help us describe vertical relationships: when something is higher or lower than a reference point. This can be literal (physical space) or metaphorical (values, standards, thresholds).

UNDER, UNDERNEATH, BELOW – Lower Than a Point

Several prepositions indicate that something is lower than another object or point:

• UNDER – often suggests direct vertical relationship, sometimes with partial coverage: The cables run UNDER the floor panels.
• UNDERNEATH – can emphasise being directly and fully beneath or covered: The control unit is hidden UNDERNEATH the desk.
• BELOW – often used for more general or abstract relationships: The legend is printed BELOW the figure., The measured value was BELOW the detection limit.

In everyday description, we might say “my next paragraph is immediately BENEATH this paragraph,” or “people in cold climates often sleep UNDERNEATH thick blankets.” In academic writing, you might use “BELOW” to talk about figures or standards: As shown in Figure 2 BELOW…, temperatures remained BELOW zero throughout the experiment.

OVER and ABOVE – Higher Than a Point

The counterparts are OVER and ABOVE, which signal that something is higher than a reference point:

• The drone flew OVER the experimental field.
• The village lies well ABOVE sea level.
• The temperature rose ABOVE the critical threshold.

OVER frequently suggests movement or coverage (throwing a ball OVER a wall, pouring a solution OVER the surface), whereas ABOVE often describes relative position or value. Both can be extended metaphorically in academic writing: “I would choose that model OVER the alternative” expresses preference, and “students should not consider themselves ABOVE ethical guidelines” invokes nonphysical superiority.

Proximity and Arrangement: NEAR, NEXT TO, BETWEEN, AMONG and OPPOSITE

Sometimes we need to describe things that are close together without any necessary vertical relationship. English offers a range of prepositions to express different kinds of proximity and arrangement.

NEAR and NEXT TO – General vs. Direct Proximity

NEAR indicates that something is at a short distance from something else, but the exact arrangement is unspecified:

• The research institute is NEAR the central hospital.
• The sampling site was NEAR the river.

To be more precise and to suggest immediate adjacency, we can use NEXT TO (or BESIDE):

• The research institute is NEXT TO the central hospital.
• The control panel is NEXT TO the incubator.

In a methods or materials section, such specificity can be important. “The sensor was placed NEXT TO the main electrode” is more precise than saying it was NEAR the electrode.

BETWEEN and AMONG – Two vs. Many

BETWEEN usually describes a position in the middle of two clearly defined points or items:

• The restaurant is BETWEEN the shopping mall and the bowling alley.
• The sensor was placed BETWEEN the two electrodes.

AMONG is used when something is surrounded by, or part of, a larger and often less clearly defined group:

• The restaurant is AMONG the shops on that side of the road.
• The anomaly was found AMONG the control samples.

In academic writing, this distinction helps readers understand whether you are referring to a specific, limited set or to a more diffuse collection.

OPPOSITE – Across From

OPPOSITE indicates that something is across from another object or location, facing it rather than next to it:

• The laboratory is OPPOSITE the main lecture hall.
• The clinic is OPPOSITE the pharmacy, across the street.

In spatial descriptions of campuses, buildings or urban research settings, this preposition helps orient readers accurately.

Common Difficulties for Non-Native Writers

For authors writing in English as an additional language, prepositions are especially challenging because they often do not translate directly from one language to another. A preposition used for “in” or “on” in another language may cover a broader range of situations than its English counterpart. As a result, writers may overuse one preposition (often IN or ON) where English would prefer a more specific alternative.

Typical problems include:

• Using IN where AT would be more natural (in the university instead of at the university when referring to institutional affiliation).
• Confusing BETWEEN and AMONG when describing relationships within a group of more than two items.
• Using UNDER metaphorically where BELOW is standard in technical contexts (for example, “under the limit” vs. “below the limit,” depending on field conventions).
• Overextending NEAR instead of specifying NEXT TO, ADJACENT TO or OPPOSITE.

Because these choices are often subtle, they typically require exposure, practice and careful revision rather than a simple list of rules.

Practical Strategies for Improving Preposition Use

To specify place accurately with prepositions in academic writing, consider the following strategies:

• Visualise the relationship. Imagine the physical arrangement of objects or locations. Is something on a surface, inside a space, at a point, beneath, above, between or among other things? Choose the preposition that matches that mental image.
• Read model texts in your field. Pay attention to how experienced authors describe laboratories, field sites, campuses, equipment and diagrams. Note recurring combinations such as “stored IN,” “located AT,” “mounted ON,” “placed BETWEEN.”
• Check collocations in a learner’s dictionary or corpus tool. Many dictionaries now indicate common combinations of verbs, nouns and prepositions, which can guide you towards natural phrasing.
• Be consistent in repeated descriptions. If you decide that your study took place “AT a university hospital,” avoid switching later to “IN a university hospital” unless you are deliberately shifting the perspective from institution to interior space.
• Ask a colleague or editor for feedback. Native or near-native speakers can often sense when a preposition sounds slightly off even if the general meaning is understandable.

Conclusion

Prepositions of place may be small words, but they are central to the clarity and precision of academic and scientific writing. They shape how readers picture experimental setups, research sites, buildings, diagrams and even abstract locations such as fields of study or sections of an argument. Accurate use of prepositions such as ON, IN, AT, UNDER, OVER, BETWEEN, AMONG, NEAR and OPPOSITE allows you to describe these relationships with confidence and exactness.

By paying close attention to the spatial relationships you wish to express, learning the typical patterns associated with key prepositions and refining your sense of what sounds natural in academic prose, you can gradually eliminate awkward or ambiguous phrasing. In doing so, you help ensure that your research is not only methodologically rigorous, but also presented in language that guides readers smoothly and accurately through every step of your work.

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At Proof-Reading-Service.com, our editors check the use of prepositions and other small but important elements of English grammar, helping authors describe locations, procedures and research contexts with the precision required for successful publication.