Over there means in or to a place you can see but that is some distance away from you. It often comes with a gesture, when you show someone the way, a free table or the right person. Its partner is over here: “in or to this place, near me”.
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over there (by/next to + place); go/come over there; over here; people/things over there (= in that country)
- Can you see the man in the red jacket over there? That's my new boss.
- There's a free table over there by the window, let's grab it.
- My sister moved to Canada, and she says flats over there are huge.
What changed
First versionLet's go to there and ask the guide.
RevisionLet's go over there and ask the guide.
To say “to that place”, it's tempting to put to before there. But there already means both “in that place” and “to that place”, so it takes no to: go there, come here. Over adds the idea of a place you can point at.
Over there isn't only for the next corner. People also use it for another country where they aren't right now: I spent a year in Australia, and the coffee over there is amazing. Nobody points at a map; the conversation makes it clear which place is meant.
Your turn
— Excuse me, where's the lift? — It's ___, at the other end of the corridor.
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over there — The lift is at the other end of the corridor, far from the speaker, so it's over there. Over here is for a place near you: “right here”, “this way”.
You're meeting a friend at a train station. Tell them where to wait for you using over there, and name a landmark next to that spot.
See the coffee kiosk over there? Wait for me next to it, I'll be back in five minutes.
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