Prepositions of Place (under, below, underneath, beneath)
Hello and welcome to Fransy Fancy English! Today we will be examining under, below, underneath and beneath. Let's get cracking!
Under/below/underneath/beneath
under - over
The opposite of over is under. Under is preferred when something is covered by what is over it. Under means lower that and expresses physical contact between people or things.
"She was wearing a money belt under her sweater."
"He had hidden the money under the floorboards."
You can say 'under water' to mean below the surface of water:
"He was the first person to claim there was oil under the North Sea."
"How long can you stay under the water?"
"The wreck of the Titanic still remains under the sea."
UNDER + TIME/WEIGHT/AGE/LAYERS
Use under, not below, to refer to age, weight and time.
"Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult."
"The bag was just under 10 kilos, so I was able to bring it on the plane."
"It took us under an hour to finish the project."
"A visa is not required for a stay of under three months."
"There were under ten students in the class."
"You can’t get a driving license if you are under 18." (NOT You can’t get a driving license if you are below 18.)
Use below in certain expressions:
"A number of proposals are under consideration."
"The building is still under construction."
'His business dealings have been under investigation by the FBI for months.'
"I’ve been under a lot of stress at work lately."
"They claim the situation is under control."
"Evidence suggests that the driver of the car was under the influence of alcohol."
Below
below - above
The opposite of below is above. This word is linked to distance between things. Below means lower than something else and it is preferred when one thing is not directly under another. There is no physical contact between things or people. One thing isn't covering another thing.
"Open your book on page 123. Just below the picture there are some questions."
"They are having a party in the flat below."
"This suggestion is discussed in more detail below."
"For further information, see below."
"The sun disappeared below the horizon."
BELOW + HEIGHT/TEMPERATURE/NUMBERS/AMOUNT/LEVEL (less than a certain number, amount or level)
Below is used with words like sea level, surface and poverty line. When you talk about height and temperature, use below not under.
"The liquid must be kept below three degrees."
"The college will not accept candidates with test scores below 50."
"The temperature is five degrees below zero."
"Parts of the city are below sea level."
"There's a tunnel 100 meters below the surface."
"Miners work below the surface of the Earth."
Underneath
Underneath can be used as a preposition with a similar meaning to under. When something completely covers and hides something else.
"Underneath the stairs is where we keep our vacuum cleaner and brushes."
"The child weighed under four kilos." (Underneath only refers to position.)
"He sat underneath a tree."
Beneath
Beneath is most common in formal writing and we don’t use it often in informal speaking. It can be a preposition with a similar meaning to under or below. There's no difference in position between beneath and under and both should be on the same level. Sometimes beneath is used when something is directly under something. Never use beneath with numbers. Also, beneath is used when talking about ground or surface directly under one's feet.
"She could feel the train coming because the ground beneath her feet was moving."
"The metro station is right beneath the airport."
"I'm wearing a sweater under/beneath my jacket."
"We bought it for just under 200 pounds." (NOT beneath)
"The temperature was below zero all that week." (NOT beneath)
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