the prepositions "above" and "under"

[Eway]

Is it correct to say:

1. In the middle is a blue pattern, above and under which have totally four black lines.
2. In the middle is a blue pattern with totally four black lines above and under.

(The image is:

black line
black line
blue pattern
black line
black line )

[Tomasz Klimkiewicz]

In my opinion both of the above sentences are incorrect.

(1) the verb 'have' is incorrectly used; it's a relative clause ('which') and needs an explicit subject ('something has four black lines');
(2) is grammatically better, but still sounds a bit awkward.

Using 'totally', do you mean there are four black lines in total? Since they are split in two groups, it is enough to say:

In the middle is a blue pattern with two black lines above and below (it).

'it' at the end of the sentence is optional, in my opinion.

In a description like this 'below' sounds better than 'under'.

Please note the inversion in the above sentence (the S + V + O principle would make it 'A blue pattern is in the middle...' or at least ('There is a blue pattern in the middle...'). However, the structure 'In the middle is a blue pattern...' is possible and frequently used in very formal written English, e.g. technical texts, instruction manuals, etc.

All the best,
Tee Kay

[Eway]

Thank you for your detalied explanation.

Can I say "Above and under the blue pattern are two black lines" then?

Also,
is it correct to say "Above is two black lines" and "Below is two black lines"?
Should I use "are" here instead of "is"?

[Tomasz Klimkiewicz]

Yes, this version sounds OK to me.

[Nahualli]

Thank you for your detalied explanation.

Can I say "Above and under the blue pattern are two black lines" then?

Also,
is it correct to say "Above is two black lines" and "Below is two black lines"?
Should I use "are" here instead of "is"?

You can enhance this sentence a little bit by adding "both"

"Both above and under the blue pattern are two black lines" This gives your sentence the illusion of symmetry, which is basically what you're describing; uniformity.

-Nah-

[Eway]

Thank you!


Ah, and with another preposition "between".

Can I say "Between the two sets of black lines is a blue pattern" or "Between the two sets of black lines shows a blue pattern"?