Prepositions: Near & Next to

Hi there, how’s life?

Today I’d like to call your attention to the use of near and next to. Of course that, apart from these two, we also have by, beside, nearby, close to… and although they have slight differences, they pretty much have the meaning of being close to something. Observe:

• Next to (as well as beside) indicates that the object is adjacent, “neighbouring” the subject:

Chris lives next to me (Chris lives the next door)                                                                     The phone was right beside her (The phone was next to her)

• Near (as well as close to) in no way means that the object is adjacent to the subject, it just indicates that the object is not far away – it’s around, in the same area, “nearby”:

Living near an airport has its advantages                                                                                                       Is there a bank close to Waverley Station? 

What I’d like to focus on, however, is in the form of near and next to – observe that whereas next is followed by the preposition to, the same doesn’t happen to near, ok?

Have a great weekend!

Olá! Como vai a vida?

Hoje eu gostaria de chamar sua atenção para o uso de near e de next to. Sabemos que, além destes dois advérbios temos também by, beside, nearby, close to… mas apesar de eles terem pequenas diferenças entre si, de modo geral servem para se referir a coisas ou pessoas que estão próximas umas das outras. Observe apenas que:

• Next to (assim como beside) indica que o objeto está adjacente, vizinho ao sujeito:

Chris lives next to me (Chris mora na casa ao lado)                                                                     The phone was right beside her (O telefone estava bem ao lado dela)

• Near (assim como close to) de modo algum significa que o objeto esteja lado a lado com o sujeito, apenas indica que o objeto não está longe demais – está por perto, na área ao redor, “nearby”:

Living near an airport has its advantages   (perto)                                                                                                    Is there a bank close to Waverley Station?  (próximo a)

Porém, gostaria mesmo de focar na forma de uso do near e de next to – observe que, embora next seja seguido da preposição to, o mesmo não acontece com near, beleza?

Bom final de semana!

Related articles:

• https://isabellaferraroblog.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/focus-on-do-make/
• https://isabellaferraroblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/youre-x-your/