Place, Location and Position

This week we answer a question from Pakistan. Shahid writes:

Question:

What is the difference between these terms: place, location¹, position, site and situation? -- Shahid, Pakistan.

Answer:

Dear Shahid,

The five terms you gave are very close in meaning. The English language often has more than one word to describe a similar idea or action.

Place

The word "place" is used to describe an area that may not have an exact border. In fact, it may not be a particular or special area. Place is so general it could be a room, a building, a town, a country, or something else. For example, in a news broadcast, I heard this sentence:

The beach is one of the safest places to be these days.

Official documents may ask for your "place of birth," which usually means² a city and country.

Have you ever been waiting in line but need to leave for a short period? Then you might ask someone:

Will you hold my place in line?

This use of place is the same as how we use the word "position."

Position

Position means a specific³ point.

The position of something is relative to other things. For example, in an auto⁴ race, the "pole position" is in the first row on the inside lane⁵.

She earned the pole position for the race because she was the fastest driver this year.

A position can also be a way of holding one's body, as in this example.

Most office workers spend the day in a sitting position.

Location

The word "location" is used to describe a specific point in physical space. For example:

The location of a business is very important to its success.

People who buy and sell homes and buildings often use the expression:

Location, location, location!

That means a store on a busy street corner is more likely to be successful and a house that is in a nice neighborhood will be easier to sell.

Site

A related⁶ word is "site," which we can use for the present or past location of a building or an important event in history, as in:

This was the site of the first battle in the war.

We also use "site" to talk about the future location of a building or structure⁷:

The mayor⁸ chose the site of the new memorial⁹.

Situation

Finally, Shahid, you asked about the word "situation." This is an old-fashioned¹⁰ and more formal, or official, way to talk about a place:

The house is in a wonderful situation close to the water.

However, American English speakers generally no longer use this word when talking about specific places.

I hope these answers help when you want to use these five place terms.

Your questions

What questions do you have about English? Send us an email at [email protected].

And that's Ask a Teacher for this week.

I'm Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

location – n. a place or position

site – n. the place where something (such as a building) is, was, or will be located¹¹

beach – n. land along a body of water

row – n. several objects organized in a straight line

lane – n. a narrow road or path for a single line of vehicles¹²

old-fashioned – adj. of or related to something from the past

1 location   

n.地点，位置，定位

参考例句：

• It is a suitable location for a new school.那是建一所新学校的合适地点。
• I have to find a convenient location for the shelves.我得找一合适的地方放这些书架。

2 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

3 specific   

adj.明确的；具体的；特定的

参考例句：

• The money is to be used for specific purposes.这笔钱有专门用途。
• We haven't fixed a specific date for our meeting.我们会议的具体日期还没有定下来。

4 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

5 lane   

n.(乡间)小路(巷)；车(跑，泳)道；航道

参考例句：

• There is a shop at the end of this lane.这条胡同的顶头有一家商店。
• The champion is running in lane five.冠军跑在第五跑道上。

6 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

7 structure   

n.结构，构造，建筑物；v.构成；

参考例句：

• Doctors study the structure of the human body.医生研究人体构造。
• A flower has quite a complicated structure.一朵花的结构相当复杂。

8 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

9 memorial   

adj.记忆的；纪念的；n.纪念碑，纪念堂

参考例句：

• We visited the Lincoln Memorial.我们参观了林肯纪念堂。
• He wrote a memorial of the late author.他写了一篇纪念这位已故作家的文章。

10 old-fashioned   

adj.旧式的，保守的，挑剔的

参考例句：

• Why do you still dress in an old-fashioned mode?你为什么还穿款式陈旧的衣服？
• Here is an old-fashioned pump for drawing water from a well.这里有一个旧式水泵可从井里抽水。

11 located   

adj.处于，位于

参考例句：

• The mechanic located the fault immediately. 机修工立即找到了出故障的地方。
• a small town located 30 miles south of Chicago 位于芝加哥以南30英里的一个小镇

12 vehicles   

n.运载工具；传播媒介；（为展露演员才华而）特意编写的一出戏（或电影等）；[画]展色剂；交通工具( vehicle的名词复数 )；车辆；传播媒介；手段

参考例句：

• There is not much clearance for vehicles passing under this bridge. 车辆在这座桥下通过时没有多少余隙。
• to carry out random spot checks on vehicles 对车辆进行抽检