Position nouns

方位词

AKA: location nouns, nouns of locality

Nouns showing direction and location

Potential articles / sections

• Single character location nouns (e.g. 上, 下, 里 etc.) rarely used on their own. Usually combined with -边, -面, 以- or 之- to make two-character location nouns. These can be adverbs (adverbial adjuncts - can have more than one in a phrase).
• Single character location noun usually attach to other nouns, e.g. 屋子里.
• Some rules for 里 / 里边
  • Must be used after nouns for containers, e.g. *巧克力在盒子
  • Cannot be used after nouns for geographical areas, e.g. *我在北京里

Sources

• 外国人实用汉语语法(中英文对照) (pp. 20 - 24)
• http://baike.baidu.com/view/1026650.html