Do native speakers say 'close to here' or 'close here'?

Akiko   Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:02 pm GMT
Some people say The hospital is 'close to here', and some people say The hospital is 'close here'. Which one is right?

1. close here - close there
2. close to here - close to there
Travis   Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:30 pm GMT
"Close to here" sounds far more natural in these kinds of cases than "close here". Note that "close here" is actually a grammatical form in constructions like these, but it has a somewhat different meaning than what most would intend, as it emphasizes the current location and its relation to a fixed point, in this case, the hospital, rather than the fact that the hospital is nearby in general.
Travis   Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:38 pm GMT
One thing I forgot to mention is that one can also say "close by here" or just, for that matter, "close by", which would have the same meaning as "close to here". In many cases, these forms would actually sound more natural than "close to here".
upstater   Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:45 pm GMT
I'd also recommend "The hospital is close by." or "The hospital is nearby.", rather than "close to here".
Akiko   Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:09 am GMT
Thank you soooooooo much, Travis and Upstater.
You guys are awesome. lots of kisses Akiko