となり – next to

となり can only be used when the two places/items being stated are in the same category. When the two places/items are in contrast, よこ are used. For example, it sounds better when you say, “でんわ　は　ねこ　の　よこ　です“. (でんわ = telephone. は = topic marking particle. ねこ = cat. の = no particle. よこ = next to. です = copula, “is”). In English this would mean, “The telephone is next to the cat.” However, in a sentence like this, “ねこ　は　いぬ　の　となり　です“. (ねこ = cat. は = topic marking particle. いぬ = dog. の = dog. となり = next to. です = copula, “is”.) In English this would be “The cat is next to the dog.” Notice that “cat” and “dog” is in the same category, (animals). That’s why となり is used instead of よこ. However, “telephone” and “cat” are not in the same category, so that’s why よこ is used.

あいだ – between

With あいだ, the formula changes a bit. Here’s the formula: place/item 1 + は particle + place/item 2 + と particle + place 3 + の particle + あいだ = between + です = is. Here’s an example, “ほんや　は　としょかん　と　デパート　の　あいだ　です“. (ほんや = book store. は = topic marking particle. としょかん = library. と = and. デパート = department store. の = no particle. あいだ = between. です = is.) In English this sentence would mean, “The book store is between the library and the department store. The key difference with this formula is that you need a third place and you also need the と particle.

In order to describe an event that happened at a particular place, you can use this formula: place 1 + の particle + description place + で particle + verb. Here’s an example, “レストラン　の　なか　で　たべました“. (レストラン = restaurant. の = no particle. なか = inside. で = de particle. たべました = ate.) In English this would mean, “I ate inside the restaurant”. You can also use the polite negative past tense by substituting たべませんでした with たべました. Also, in the previous paragraph, we had the sentence, “ほんや　は　としょかん　と　デパート　の　あいだ　です”. To turn this into the polite negative past tense, insert じゃありませんでした and take out です.