Location Phrases

Moving in

Mr. Brown

Well, that didn't take too long. And now the living room.

Mr. Turner

Let's get at it, then.

Mr. Brown

OK. The bookcase should go against the wall in between the door and the picture window. Then, we'll put the plants in front of the window.

Mr. Turner

So the bookcase goes against the wall in between the picture window and the door, and the plants go in front of the window.

Mr. Brown

Yeah, right. OK? Got it? Lift. Right here. Now down. Let's push it back, right against the wall.

Mr. Turner

That takes care of the bookcase. OK, now the plants?

Mr. Brown

Right. They go in front of the picture window.

Mr. Turner

There we go. What's next?

Mr. Brown

Let's put the armchair across from the bookcase.

Mr. Turner

Across from the bookcase? Do you mean on the other side of the room? Near the closet?

Mr. Brown

Uh-huh. Between the wall and the closet. Got it? Up.

Mr. Turner

OK. Over to the corner. There. I'll put the reading lamp beside the armchair.

Mr. Brown

Yes, but not next to the closet. Someone could knock it over opening the closet door. Why not put the lamp on the other side of the armchair? There, it's looking more like home all the time. Now, what about the big couch?

Mr. Turner

Yeah, that's a heavy piece, so let's agree on the position. Why not the middle of the room, facing the picture window?

Mr. Brown

Yes, that seems to be the right place. Ready? OK, lift. Gently, gently. OK, down it goes. What do you think? Is this the middle?

Mr. Turner

I think we should carry it a couple of steps closer to the window.

Mr. Brown

Well, maybe just one more. OK, one step more and then we'll put it down. Lift. Over. Down. Gently, gently. There.

Mr. Turner

You must have the heaviest couch in town. Let's decide where to move the other furniture before we lift any more.

Mr. Brown

Yeah, that's a good idea. What do you say about the stereo?

Mr. Turner

I'd put the turntable in the middle of the empty wall, the wall across from the door and closet. Then, I'd put the two speakers some distance away on each side of the turntable.

Mr. Brown

Yeah, that should sound nice.

Mr. Turner

OK, so we'll put the turntable in the middle of the wall across from the closet. And the speakers, one on each side of the turntable several steps away.

Mr. Brown

Now the small coffee table and the telephone can go in the corner near the speaker.

Mr. Turner

Do you mean the corner in between the speaker and the picture window?

Mr. Brown

No, I mean the corner at the other end of the wall, behind the other speaker.

Mr. Turner

Oh, OK. The small coffee table and telephone go at the other end behind the speaker in the corner. There. That just leaves the television, which we can put in front of the couch.

Mr. Brown

No, thank you. What are we going to do? Watch cops hunt down robbers? That's all we ever do anyway. No, I don't like that arrangement. If the TV's the center of the room, then too much of the family activity will be watching the tube. I don't want my kid to turn into a couch potato.

Mr. Turner

Well, all that space in front of the couch. What'll you put there?

Mr. Brown

The long coffee table, of course. And the proper place for the TV is out of the way, in the last corner between the speaker and the picture window!

 

From Suspicious Minds, Begin et al. 1990. New York: Longman