Prepositions indicating position close to a point
To talk about position close to a point, we use the following prepositions: near, by, next to,
between, among and opposite.
Near
Near means close to someone or something
There is a temple near my house.
Some students were standing near the gate.
Most shops near the station remained closed throughout the day.
‘Is the railway station far from here?’ ‘No, it is quite near.’
Who is that girl sitting near the door?
By
By means beside or close to someone or something
She was sitting by the window.
There is a coffee house by the store.
Come and sit by me.
Next to
Next to means besides or very near to someone or something.
Who is that girl sitting next to your brother?
She has bought an apartment next to the lake. (There is nothing between her apartment and
the lake.)
The baby was sleeping next to his parents.
A large mango tree grows next to my house.
Between and among
They both show position between / among objects.
She sat between her two kids. (There was a child on each side of her.)
I found the keys lying among the books.
Opposite
Opposite means ‘on the other side of a room, road, river etc.’
The bedroom is opposite the living room.
There is a library opposite the school. (= The library is on the other side of the road from the
school.)