# EN: on/to/at the left/right of - preposition



## G54250

Hey guys !

to situate something in a picture, would you rather say "on the left of the picture" or "in the left etc . ..."

[...]

Cheers !


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## Donaldos

_*on* the left(-hand side)_


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## colia

Hi, could anyone tell me the difference between the two ?

I think 'on the left of ' is used to locate things while 'to the left' is used to tell the way, ex. : go to the left 

Is that right ?


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## Oddmania

Je suis d'accord, je pense que _on _s'utilise pour la position, alors que _to _implique un déplacement.


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## moustic

For me, both can be used to locate things, as in the song: "clowns to the left of me ..."
"To", as Oddmania suggests, is used when movement is implied.


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## Wordsmyth

I agree with moustic. "Clowns *to* the left of me, jokers *to* the right" means the same as "clowns *on* my left, jokers *on* my right". 

I think there's a certain logic there: "*on*" is just a location; "*to*" probably derives from the idea of a direction (starting from me, looking to ... ); but I can't see any distinction in meaning.

Note that "*at*" is also used in certain expressions: "Sitting *at* the right hand of God" is commonly seen.

It's pretty much the same in French: on peut dire "à _[at/to]_ ma gauche" ou "sur _[on]_ ma gauche", n'est-ce pas?

Ws


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## guillaumedemanzac

Look at the verb preceding the phrase - usually verbs of movement for *to* and verbs of position for* on*.
*He was sitting on my left.   He went/moved to the left.*   The obvious exceptions are mentioned above  -  *Clowns sitting to the left of me and jokers on my right*.
With verbs of motion it is more clear cut - you can't say *he went on his left*.
As wordsmyth says the *to* with position verbs implies *starting from me and moving/looking to my left there are a lot of clowns* and all the jokers are positioned on my right.
Probably a lot of exceptions will come out of the woodwork!! English is a complicated language.
guillaume


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## Dr. Baha'i

I would say (if it were true), "See that park bench with three people sitting on it? The man on the left (or, "on the left side of the bench") is a clown. To the left of him, standing up, is a joker."


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## Embonpoint

Yes, "to" often suggests motion rather than just location.

So if I am directing you on where to find something on a shelf I might say, "Higher. No, a little lower. Good, and now a few inches* to the left.* There you are!"

On your left is often used just to show where something is. If I'm on a tourist bus, the announcer might say, "*on your right,* is the Eiffel tower.* On your left*, the house where Napolean lived."   

An idiomatic usage: On the bike trail in the U.S. we yell out "*on your left"* when passing. That means, I'm on your left, watch out! I wish you all would do that in France.


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## guillaumedemanzac

thanks embonpoint
 I will jump a mile (=1.6 km) next time I'm on the Appalachian and hear *ON YOUR LEFT* behind me.
Your examples are interesting because the verb is missing - if you put in any correct verb the rule is easy to remember.
 ..*.and now (go/move/go along the shelf) a few inches to the left .*. ... *the Eiffel tower is (situated) on your right and Napoleon's house is over there (positioned) on your left*.
By the way, in England you shout *PASSING *but of course it is *ON YOUR RIGHT* and like in France the bell is obligatory.
guillaume


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## drassum

Hi everyone,

The subject has already been discussed but I admit I'm still unsure about the correct preposition. 

Let's say I want to describe a picture in which a man is standing next to a woman. Should I say "At/on/to his right is a woman" ?

Thank you very much for your help!


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## SwissPete

*To *his right ...


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## Fantaghiro

Bonjour,

Quelle est la différence entre ces trois expressions? En regardant sur les forums, j'ai constaté qu'on privilégiait souvent "to the right of". Pourquoi ?
Est-ce qu'on dirait plutôt "on the right of the building", "at the right of the building", ou "to the right of the building"?

Merci !


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## Kekepop

Bonjour !

   To the right of indique la direction depuis un point de référence. On the right (side) (of)  indique la position du côté d'un tout, souvent sur quelque chose.
The keys are to the right of the table =  Les clés ne se trouvent pas sur la table, mais quelque part à sa droite.
The keys are on the right (side) of the table = Les clés se trouvent sur la table, dans sa région droite.

En parlant des routes, on dit on the right, tout simplement, ou "on the right-hand side". -> Turn left on Main Street, go down about 1/2 a mile and I live on the right-hand side in a blue house.

Personellement, je ne dirais jamais "at the right of".


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## Fantaghiro

Ok! Merci beaucoup! 

Donc si on dit "on the right of the building", ça veut dire qu'on parle de la partie droite du bâtiment, et si on dit "to the right of the building", ça veut dire que ça se situe vers la droite en partant du bâtiment, c'est bien ça?


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## t4pi0k4

Kekepop said:


> To the right of indique la direction depuis un point de référence. On the right (side) (of)  indique la position du côté d'un tout, souvent sur quelque chose.
> The keys are to the right of the table =  Les clés ne se trouvent pas sur la table, mais quelque part à sa droite.
> The keys are on the right (side) of the table = Les clés se trouvent sur la table, dans sa région droite.
> 
> En parlant des routes, on dit on the right, tout simplement, ou "on the right-hand side". -> Turn left on Main Street, go down about 1/2 a mile and I live on the right-hand side in a blue house.
> 
> Personellement, je ne dirais jamais "at the right of".


Je ne suis pas tout à fait d'accord avec les nuances que tu donnes, enfin il me semble que tout dépend du verbe employé et évidemment ce que l'on veut exprimer:

Par exemple, je ne dirais pas "t_he keys are to the right side of the table_" mais plutôt you will find the keys ON the right side of the table! Dans tous les cas les clés sont SUR la table donc y a que "on" qui est possible!
Par contre je dirais dans un autre contexte "_Look TO your right_" ou bien "_at the end of the street,  you will find the church to your right_" parce que TO ajoute une nuance the direction
enfin je dirais "I have a nightstand AT the right side of my bed"!
Toutefois si on peut utiliser toujours "on" à la place de "at", j'ai pas d'exemple où "at" est le seul choix possible!


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## Kekepop

Je ne dirais jamais "I have a nightstand at the right side of my bed". You will find the keys / The keys are on... sont, en principe, la même phrase - Mais oui, "on" est le seul mot possible. Oui, on peut dire "look to your right", mais ça ne dépend que du point de référence. Dans look to your right, tu es le point de référence. Dans on the right ("of the street" est compris), c'est la rue qui est le point de référence.


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## wildan1

_On the right side_ peut aussi signifier _du « bon » côté.

He didn't get out of the right side of the bed this morning. (Il s'est levé du mauvais pied ce matin.)_

Par conséquent on dit souvent_ right-hand side_ pour éviter cette confusion possible entre _right (droit) _et _right (correct, bon)._


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## paramaribo77

HI, 
In spite of the explanations above, I am not sure of my translation
 I'd like to describe a picture : on the left of the house or to the left of the house there is a garden.................. 
Thanks for your replies


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## Maître Capello

Comme le jardin ne fait pas partie de la maison elle-même – il n'est en effet ni dans ni sur la maison en principe  –, je dirais _*to* the left of the house_.


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