Prepositions of Place (inside, in, outside, above, on, over)

Hello and welcome to Fransy fancy English! What are the differences between in and inside? Above, on and over? Let's put these prepositions under the microscope! 

INSIDE (as a preposition followed by a noun)

Something or someone that is inside a place, container, or object is in it or is surrounded by it. Inside would generally refer to the inner part/interior or inner surface/side of something.  

"Inside the box there was a gold watch."

"The jewels were locked away inside the safe."

"He turned on the light after he went inside."

"What’s inside the envelope?"

INSIDE OF

Inside of is sometimes used instead of inside, especially in American English.

"I had a strange feeling inside of me."

in vs inside 

The word inside means that someone or something is physically enclosed, in a room, in a box, etc. The word in can almost always be used in place of inside, but not vice versa. For example, we would say:

"He plays in a band." (NOT he plays inside a band.)

So when you’re speaking about time or location or other situations in which the person or object is not physically enclosed, you need to use the word in.

The frog jumped in(to) the pool (the frog was outside the pool and then jumped into the pool or the frog was in the pool, and jumped, remaining in the pool).

OUTSIDE (also outside of especially in North American English)

Outside means out but close to the place or thing (not away). If you are outside a room, you are not in it but are in the passage or area next to it. You can park your car outside our house.

ABOVE 

At or to a higher place or position than something/somebody, but not directly over it.

"There's a lamp above us."

"Our neighbors in the apartment above us are really noisy." (normally refers to being directly/vertically above you)

above vs on

On means that something is in a position that is physically touching, covering or attached to something.

Use on with surfaces:

"The clock on the wall is slow."

"She put the food on the table."

"I can see a spider on the ceiling."

"Do not to walk on the grass."

above vs over 

Above and over can both be used to describe a position higher than something: 

"They built a new room above/​over the garage."

When you are talking about movement from one side of something to the other, you can only use over:

"They jumped over the stream."

Over can also mean ‘covering’.

"She put a blanket over the child."

"Planes fly above the clouds."

"There is a halo over my head."

"We put a sun umbrella over the table so we wouldn't get so hot."

"I accidentally spilled red wine all over the carpet."

ABOVE + LEVELS/TEMPERATURE/HEIGHT (minimum level or fixed point)

Above and over can also mean ‘more than’. Above is used in measurements of temperature and height. 

"Temperatures will not rise above zero tonight."

 "The house is at 620 feet above sea level."

"Ozone forms a protective layer between 12 and 30 miles above the Earth's surface."

 "Below pH 6.5 is acid, above pH 7.5 is alkaline."

OVER + NUMBERS/AGES/MONEY/TIME 

Over is used with numbers, ages, money and time and it means ‘older than’ and ‘more than’.

"She’s over 50."

"It costs over £100."

"We waited over 2 hours."

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