Examples of circumstantial complement of place

A circumstantial complement (CC) is characterized because it indicates what are the circumstances in which the action described by the verb takes place. The circumstantial complement may be an adverbial phrase ("there" in Leave the coat there), a prepositional phrase ("in Valencia" in We work in Valencia) or a adverbial subordinate clause of place ("where did you tell me" in We had dinner where you told me).

Depending on the information you provide about the verb, the circumstantial complement can be of different types. In this lesson from a teacher we are going to focus on offering you various examples of circumstantial complement of place to make this explanation easier to understand.

Like the rest of circumstantial complements, the circumstantial complement of place (CCL) is not strictly necessary to understand the full meaning of the sentence in which it is inserted, so it is an optional add-on which, in this case, helps us to describe or specify the place or site in which the action of the verb takes place. Below you will find several examples of circumstantial place complement:

• Paco studies In his bedroom.

In the previous sentence, "in his room" is the circumstantial complement of place. If we look closely at the verb, we can dispense with using this complement without fear of altering the meaning of the sentence. Thus, the resulting sentence is correct and logical: Paco studies. Yet another example:

• I bought apples in the greengrocer.

Where we see that the circumstantial complement of place "in the fruit shop" is not mandatory to understand the meaning of the sentence of which it is part: I have bought apples.

To know how to identify a circumstantial complement of place within a sentence we just need ask the verb where?:

• Last night we had dinner in the best Italian restaurant in town.

Where did we have dinner last night? - "In the best Italian restaurant in town."

• My brother lives in Paris.

Where does my brother live? - "In Paris".

• I parked the car Near the office.

Where did I park the car? - "Near the office".

At the semantic level, circumstantial place complements can generally be structured in two large groups. These are some examples of circumstantial complement of place according to these two large groups:

- Circumstantial complements that indicate situationon: that is, where the verbal action is located, as in the following examples:

• My work is close to my house. - "Close to my house".
• Study in the library. - "In the library".
• Behind you is a girl greeting you. - "Behind you".
• See you where ever. - "Where always".
• The car is in the workshop. - "In the workshop".

- Circumstantial complements that indicate direction: that is, to where or from where the action of the verb occurs. For this reason, these circumstantial complements may be of origin (I greeted your cousin from the balcony), of destiny (The boss went to his office) or indicate a place through which the verbal action takes place (The children crossed the street at the zebra crossing). Let's look at some more examples:

• The couple said goodbye from the portal. - "From the portal".
• I ran into my best friend on the way to college. - "On the way to college."
• Where the street begins there is a Chinese food stall. - "Where the street begins".
• To get to the farm, you have to go through the field. - "By the Countryside".
• From my window you can see the fireworks. - "From my window".