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The location of an object is often described by spatially relating it to a known landmark. The spatial terms used in such descriptions can provide various types of information. For example, projective terms such as above indicate direction but not distance, whereas proximal terms such as near indicate distance but not direction. Previous research has demonstrated that information not explicitly specified by projective prepositions (i.e., distance) is also encoded during the interpretation of these terms. Using a sentence-picture verification task, we examined whether direction is similarly encoded during the apprehension of proximal terms, examining both spatial prepositions (e.g., near) and motion verbs (e.g., approach). Results suggest that interpreting proximal terms involves encoding direction when such information facilitates locating the target.Imagine that you are waiting for a friend in a new restaurant by the park. Your cell phone rings, and your friend tells you that she is at the park, but cannot find the restaurant. There are many different descriptions that you could provide to assist your friend in finding the correct eatery. One helpful description would locate the restaurant relative to a reference object that is either known to your friend or is easily identifiable (Talmy, 1983). For example, you could respond with either of the spatial descriptions in (1 Á2):(1) The restaurant is to the left of the fountain.(2) The restaurant is near the fountain.

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