A number of spatial particles appear to mediate relations in which the dimensions of the LM are essentially irrelevant. As we saw in our discussions of over, the extendedness or dimensionality of the LM appears to have no particular bearing on the relationship mediated by over. In contrast, in this chapter we will explore a set of spatial particles, in, into, out, out of and through, which are sensitive to certain dimensions of the LM, namely the dimensions which collectively give rise to the notion of boundedness.

We define a bounded LM as one that possesses an interior, a boundary and an exterior. Canonically, we think of bounded LMs as three-dimensional objects, such as boxes or rooms. Entities that are typically thought of as having a one-dimensional or two-dimensional structure are not typically conceptualized as a bounded LM; for instance, they are not typically thought of as possessing an interior. However, as we have seen in our previous discussions, humans have the capacity for construing spatial scenes from a variety of perspectives; this ability appears to extend to how the dimensionality of any given entity is construed for the purposes at hand. The linguistic evidence shows that the conceptualization of a particular LM as bounded is determined not in absolute terms by its geometry (although clearly this does play some part), but rather by virtue of the way in which humans experience and interact with the LM in question.