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Merriam-webster's definition for here/there as a noun is "here"=this place, and "here" as an adverb "here"=to/in this place ; at this location.

In this sentence: "He's living around here". What part of speech is the word "here"?

He's living around London. At this point of view, "here" acts like a noun.

He's living around to this place. It doesn't seem natural.....

Besides that, if "around" works like a preposition, I think I could not use here as an adverb. But every dictionary defines "here" as an adverb.

HELP ME! I speak Portuguese, these concepts are really difficult for me.

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    I think the modern approach of treating the locatives "here" and "there" as intransitive prepositions is preferable.
    – BillJ
    Aug 27, 2020 at 8:55
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    I'm looking forward to the day when deictic locatives are seen as being neither adverb nor preposition.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Aug 27, 2020 at 15:48
  • Why do you need to know? Wouldn't it be equally useful to say it's blue and not red? Knowing what box to put it in doesn't change its nature or its behavior, and doesn't help one understand it at all.
    – John Lawler
    Jan 24, 2021 at 23:40
  • Ele vive por aqui. Ele está morando por aqui. É igual que em português (Ele está morando por esse lugar: Não) As duas outras não funcionam. O que é "por" em português? É uma preposição. "aqui" é um advérbio.
    – Lambie
    May 24, 2021 at 19:29
  • I think a deictic: Here you go. Here it is. But not: I live here. or I live there. Those two usages are different from each other.
    – Lambie
    May 24, 2021 at 19:33

1 Answer 1

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If you check any good dictionary, "here" is listed as an adverb as well as a noun.

In your sentence, "here" is a noun (meaning THIS PLACE), and acts as the object of the preposition "around". That's why you can easily switch from "here" to "London" (no pun intended!).

If you try switching the two words in the sentence "Stop here", you can't. Why? You guessed it right. Because "here" here functions as an adverb, and not as a noun. Of course, this is not to say that nouns cannot follow verbs in sentences. They can and they do. But then they are the objects of the verbs, not adverbs. I hope I was able to drive home the point.

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    Yes, yes, yes, we all know what (most) dictionaries say. Modern grammar takes the locatives "here" and "there" as intransitive prepositions. This dictionary gets it right link
    – BillJ
    Aug 27, 2020 at 8:44
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    @BillJ-- With due regards, I cannot quite understand what difference it makes even if there exists a huge chasm between traditional and modern approaches to grammar? I mean it's unlike physical sciences, where, for instance, if I flub an equation, the whole edifice would come crumbling down. I don't really see the point in attaching different labels in traditional and modern set-ups. Because at the end of the day, no "rule" (in the scientific sense of the word) is actually broken; we merely switch terminologies without risking losing the bigger picture. Or it could be that I'm mistaken. :)
    – user392935
    Aug 27, 2020 at 9:01
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    It's what grammar is all about, and what this site is all about. The reanalysis of "here" and "there" is an interesting and important development (though it actually goes back a long way). Non-grammarians couldn't give a hoot, but ELU isn't aimed at them. And of course the OP specifically asked about the POS of "here" and deserves an answer based on current thinking.
    – BillJ
    Aug 27, 2020 at 9:31
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    @Shoe The link that I provided to a dictionary which supports its classification as a preposition is no less an authority than the one used in Stockfish's answer, which simple cited "dictionaries". Yes, non-grammarians do frequent ELU, but they are surely capable of learning about these things; to say otherwise would be to insult their intelligence.
    – BillJ
    Aug 27, 2020 at 17:03
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    @BillJ. The claim is often made on this site that dictionaries are not to be trusted for grammatical information. So, how is a learner to know which dictionary, if any, to trust? What makes Wiktionary more trustworthy than, say, Merriam-Webster? Anyway, my point is that it would be helpful to say that the classification of here as a preposition is based on an analysis by Huddlestone and Pullum in the CGEL.
    – Shoe
    Aug 27, 2020 at 17:23

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