Above and below are both adverb or preposition or adjective. They have the opposite meanings.
1. Prepositions of place
When they are used as prepositions of place, above X means "higher than X", and below X means "lower than X".
Example: My friend, John, lives above me (first floor) but below our neighbor (second floor). This means John lives on the first floor (below the second floor); our neighbor on the second floor (above John).
Note: Above can mean "higher in one's job or position", or "higher on a scale of measuring of price or speed. However, below means the opposite. Example:
1. One's job or position: James is a sales department manager. He's above all the other supervisors and salespersons. They take orders from him because they are below him.
2. Scale of measuring of price: Amazon's product prices are above Ebay's. However, Alibaba's product prices are below both Amazon's and Ebay's.
3. Scale of measuring of speed: My friend's always driving above the speed limit in the towns, but below the speed limit in the high-speed streets.
2. Adverbs of place
Above and below, when they are adverbs of place, they may follow a noun or a preposition. Example:
1. Follow a noun: From the sky bar, we could see the landscape below and the sky and stars above.
2. Follow a preposition: A man shouting from above is trying to warn his coworkers of falling bricks. [from is a preposition; above is an adverb.]
3. Adjective (indicate place)
Above and below as adjectives are rare and difficult to understand because they follow a noun or noun phrase. See the lesson "Adjectives" for more details. They're always used with books; above means "at an earlier point in the book"; below means "at a later point in the book". Example:
- Let's see section 2 above.
- Check the next lesson below.
We hope this will help you understand and know how above and below are used. If you have any question regarding this topic or other, just leave a comment in the comment section below.
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