Some students looked at him curiously.

[99bottles]

Context: A student is on a bus taking him and other students to school. At some point, he remembers something and laughs. The students sitting in seats close to the seat he's sitting in notice that he's laughing, and they don't know what he's laughing about. The sentence below is what follows.

Some (nearby) students (nearby) looked at him curiously.

Where should I place nearby? I know that if I place it before students, it's an adjective, whereas if I place it after students, it's an adverb. What I want to know is what sounds more natural in this case.

 

[Tarheel]

I would say:

Some nearby students looked at him curiously.

Of course, you could assume that only those who heard him would respond in that fashion. So you probably don't need nearby there.

Hm.

 

[Tdol]

I'd place it afterwards.

 

[emsr2d2]

I wouldn't use "nearby" for a proximity as close as two people on a bus. It tends to be used for longer distances and to talk about buildings etc. I'd say "Some students sitting near him looked at him curiously".