A positioning apparatus including a coarse motion stage, a first moving mechanism to move the coarse motion stage with a large stroke, a fine motion stage, and a second moving mechanism to move the fine motion stage with a small stroke relative to the coarse motion stage. In addition, at least two couplings transmit forces from the coarse motion stage to the fine motion stage, and the couplings apply the forces in the same direction from at least two sides of the fine motion stage.