This paper consists of a critical review of how spatial prepositions and adverbial particles have been treated in the literature. Thus, after a review of the description of locative expressions by traditional grammars, some of the main and most recent ideas related to the semantic analysis of spatial prepositions and adverbs are put forward. As a result of the data gathered, and departing from a functional paradigm, a new classification of such items is proposed at the end of this work. Besides, some innovative contributions to the literature are added, in the line of functional grammars. Finally, a definition of the most important concepts related to prepositions and adverbs of space is provided, and clear boundaries that set the main differences between prepositions and adverbs of space are established.