Spatial Relationships

On the previous page we reviewed some of the basic prepositions of place. But when giving instructions we often need phrases aimed more towards ‘spatial relationships’.

Below are some phrases which are useful in more accurately describing where something is ‘in space’.

When you have examined these phrases, click on the exercise button at the bottom of the page to give yourself an opportunity to test your knowledge of these terms.

top left-hand corner
bottom right-hand corner
(1 cm) in from the left/right-hand side
in the middle
just above centre, to the left
just below centre, to the right
halfway across/up/down the page
a third of the way across the top/bottom
two thirds of the way up/down the left/right-hand side
to the left/right of this point
(1 cm) above/below this point

Exercise - desert island

Click on the ‘exercise’ button below to call up a picture of an island. There are a number of items to be placed on the picture. Click on the audio wheel to hear the position of these items. You can listen to different descriptions by pressing the “>” or “<” buttons.

Try to accurately place the items by listening to the descriptions.

When you have finished click the ‘show answer’ button.