Position is where something is. We describe it in words, always relative to something else: left or right, above or below, in front or behind, next to, and between.

Position words come in opposite pairs. If the cat is to the left of the dog, then the dog is to the right of the cat — the same picture, described from the other side.

Relative to the middle

Pick a starting point, then everything else is left, right, above or below it.

Direction: which way, and how far to turn

Direction is which way you move or face — forward, backward, or a turn. Turns are measured in quarters of a full circle:

• a quarter turn is 90^\circ;
• a half turn is 180^\circ (you face the opposite way);
• a full turn is 360^\circ (right back where you started).

Describing position on a grid — "two steps right, one step up" — is the very first step toward the coordinate plane, where those steps become numbers.