In places something inside a space, in a point of a city or in a general situation. It does not indicate an exact position with respect to another object; it only says where something is. It is used with broad places like at home, in the kitchen, in Madrid, on the table and also with states or contexts like in class or at work. For a more precise location, other prepositions of place are combined, such as those that appear in Common Prepositions.

To locate an object relative to another, the pattern is object + preposition + reference. To the left of and to the right of place something on one side or the other. On top of and under mark verticality. In front of and behind show what is in the front and what remains in the back. Thus, the glass is on top of the table and the bicycle is behind the car describe direct spatial relationships between two elements.

Basic relative positions in space

Idea
Use «to the left of» to indicate that something is on the left side of another thing.
Use «to the right of» to indicate that something is on the right side of another thing.
Use «on top of» to say that something is in a position higher than another thing.
Use «under» to say that something is in a position lower than another thing.
Use «in front of» to indicate that something is at the front part of another thing.
Use «behind» to indicate that something is at the back part of another thing.

Between places something in the space that separates two references or inside a group formed by them. The object goes in the middle of two clear points: the pharmacy is between the bank and the bakery. Around indicates a position that surrounds a center, a place or an object: there are chairs around the table or there are trees around the house. With between you look at the intermediate space; with around you look at the contour that surrounds.

Use of between and around

Idea
Use «between» when something is in the middle of two references.
Use «around» when something surrounds a space or an object.

These expressions mark distance. Near indicates proximity without contact: I live near the station. Far from indicates a large distance: the airport is far from the center. Next to and beside present immediate closeness, usually with contact or almost contact: the bench is next to the pharmacy and the lamp is beside the bed. In spatial descriptions, these locutions are more precise than in and are part of the Prepositional phrases.

al lado delejos dejunto acerca de

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Se usa para indicar proximidad inmediata y suena muy natural en conversaciones cotidianasSe usa para indicar gran distancia respecto de un lugar o referenciaSe usa para indicar poca distancia sin precisar exactamente cuántoSe usa para indicar mucha cercanía con un tono neutro y muy común en el habla general

Forms of distance and proximity

Region	Variant	Definition	Example
Spain	junto a	Used to indicate very close proximity with a neutral tone and very common in everyday speech.	La farmacia está junto a la panadería.The pharmacy is next to the bakery.
Mexico	al lado de	Used to indicate immediate proximity and sounds very natural in everyday conversations.	Mi mochila está al lado de la silla.My backpack is beside the chair.
Argentina	cerca de	Used to indicate short distance without specifying exactly how much.	El parque está cerca de mi casa.The park is close to my house.
Colombia	lejos de	Used to indicate great distance from a place or reference.	La montaña está lejos de la ciudad.The mountain is far from the city.

Scramble

The neutral form places the locational complement after the verb: subject + verb + place. The book is on the table, my brother works in a hospital, the station is near the park. That order presents information directly and is the most common when you only want to describe where something is. With this pattern, the thing or person being talked about appears first and then the place where it is.

Neutral order of the place complement

Idea
Place the place complement after the verb when you want a neutral and clear sentence.
Use that order to give direct information without emphasizing the place.

When the locational complement goes at the beginning, the sentence focuses first on the space and then presents what is there: On the table is the book, At the corner there is a pharmacy, Under the bed the toy fell. The structure remains place + verb + subject. The speaker chooses this order when they want to emphasize the site before the object or person. The place functions as the starting point of the information.

Emphasis with place at the start

Usage	Explanation
Emphasis on the place	Used at the beginning of the sentence when you want to highlight where something happens.
Striking scene	Used to create a more expressive image and direct attention to the site.

After a preposition, the masculine singular article combines with a and with de. That is why you say al and del: I go to the cinema, I leave the hotel, near the river, on top of the cupboard. If the place name does not have an article, there is no contraction: I go to Madrid, I leave from Barcelona. When the place is definite, the contraction appears obligatorily. This pattern is often seen with place prepositions and with many Common Prepositions.

Contractions and articles in places

Idea
Use «al» when a combines with el before a specific place.
Use «del» when de combines with el before a specific place.
Keep the article when the place needs a concrete or known reference.

Place prepositions describe where something is: the car is in front of the house, the shop is near the square. To express movement toward a destination, Spanish uses directional constructions, not the same structure as location. It is said I am going to the shop, we enter the museum, go up to the upper floor. The decision depends on the central idea: fixed position or displacement. Destination constructions are developed in Prepositions of Direction.