Transcription
Hello everyone. How are you today?
Well, I'm very excited because in today's session, we are going to talk about how to give directions in English. How many times have you been in a situation where someone asks you, maybe, where the nearest bank is or where are the restrooms? Well, the vocabulary and phrases we are going to check today are going to help us give proper directions in English.
But before we check how to give directions, we need to fully understand the use of locations, prepositions of directions. So, why don't we review prepositions of directions first before we check how to give directions? Are you ready?
So, in here, I have, imagine this is your city, and I say, "Oh, where is the bank?" So, imagine you have the church, and the bank is right here. Where is the bank? In this case, you can say that it's next to the church. Next to. So, where is the bank in this picture? Next to the church.
Let's check one more preposition. Imagine the same bank, but now I have the church here and the cafe here, and it's in this part. The church, cafe. Where is the bank? Of course, in this case, it's between the church and the cafe. That's right, between. Entre.
So, how about here? Imagine I have a movie date, and I'm looking for the movie theater, and I ask, "Where is the movie theater?" Well, how do you say "enfrente de"? That's right, in front of. In this case, the movie theater is in front of the gas station.
Let's check one more. "Where is the store?" Imagine I'm standing right here, and this is the store. Okay. The store is around the corner from the school, around the corner from the bank, around the corner from.
One more. I'm looking for the police station, and I ask, "Where is the police station?" In this case, the only reference I have is the name of the street, Main Street. So, where is the police station? On Main Street. On Main Street.
Last one. "Where is the map?" For example, and it doesn't look like a trash can, but let's imagine it's a trash can. It's in the trash can.
So, we have seen some of the most common prepositions of directions. How do you say in English "next to"? Next to. How do you say "entre"? Between. Between. How do you say "enfrontede"? In front of. In front of. How do you say the opposite? Behind. Behind. How do you say "sobre"? On. On. And how do you say "dentro de"? In. In.
So, let's check more examples. So, imagine I'm looking for the supermarket, and my question is, "Where's the supermarket?" In here, you have a common phrase, "around the corner." It's around the corner. Around the corner. Or if I say, "Where's the library?" If I'm standing right here, it's in front of, but I have to cross a street. So, you can say, "It's across the street." It's across the street.
One more. "Where's the hospital?" "Where's the hospital?" How about this expression? It's down the street. Down the street. Down the street. Or, "Where's the hospital?" Let me see if you remember. Park Avenue. It's on Park Avenue, right? It's on Park Avenue.
Let's check one more. "Where's the bank?" Remember? Of course. "Where's the bank?" It's next to the hospital. It's next to the hospital. How about this one? "Where's the church?" What expression could you use? How about, "Oh, it's on the left." On the left. It's on the left. And the opposite, how do you say "the right"? For example, "Where's the restaurant?" It's on the right.
So, these are some expressions you can use to let a person know where a place is, how to give the direction. Let's take a look at this question. Imagine that I say, "How do I get to...?" "How do we get to the museum?" If I am in Italy on a trip, "How do I get to the museum?"
So, in this case, follow with me the directions. Listen to the pronunciation. "Oh, how do I get to the museum? Go straight ahead. Go straight ahead. Go straight ahead. Turn left. And now, turn right. It's across from the school." So, in this case, you have the expressions, "straight ahead," "turn left," "turn left," "turn right." "It's across from the school." Is.
Let's take a look at more examples. Imagine this is your city, and my question is, "How do I get to the police station?" You have in here your map, and my direction says, "First, walk two blocks." Primero, camina dos cuadras. "First, walk two blocks." "In the corner." "In the corner." "En la esquina." You will see a very useful expression. You will see a coffee shop next to a movie theater. A un lado.
So, let's listen to the whole phrase. "First, walk two blocks. In the corner, you will see a coffee shop next to a movie theater. Then, turn right and keep on walking for one more block, and it's on that." Or you can't see it with my, with my image, but it says, "left." It's on the left. Yes.
Let's check one more. So, we have the same, the same map, but now my directions, or my, the place I want to visit changed. And my question is, "How do I get to the hospital?" Let's take a look. How to give directions for this, for this situation? Well, "How do I get to the hospital?" "First, walk to the corner." "First, walk to the corner." Primero, camina. "First, walk to the corner." What, what do you think is the next direction? Exactly. "You will see a park across from a bank. Turn right." "You will see a park across from a bank. Turn right."
New expression. "Go straight ahead for one more block." "Go straight ahead for one more block." Sigue. Continues. And then, finally, "Arrived. It's in the corner of Park Avenue and Oak Street." Is.
Let's check the entire, the entire phrase, or the entire conversation. "First, walk to the corner. You will see a park across from a bank. Turn right. Go straight ahead for one more block. It's in the corner of Park Avenue and Oak Street." See, it's not very difficult to give directions. It's basically vocabulary that we have to remember to structure the instructions. Directions. We can, we can give directions if we remember all the vocabulary of prepositions of directions.
Let's check one more. My question is, "How do I get to the stadium?" Imagine I'm here, and actually, the stadium is, I am the stadium right now because it's, it's behind my picture. Okay. But the stadium is here. And the person says, "Walk to the corner." What is "walk to the corner?" Exactly. What follows? "Turn right." What is the next one? "Walk two blocks." Imagine it's one and two. Camina dos cuadras. And it's here. It's on the right, across from the gas station. See how easy it can be to give directions.
Last one. My question: "How do I get to the garage?" Do you see the garage? It's right here. Okay. So, this is Palm Street, Oak Street, Park Avenue, Main Avenue. Let's see how this person gives directions. Well, what would it be the first part? "First." Primero. "Go straight ahead for two blocks on Palm Street." Continually. One, two. "First, go straight ahead for two blocks on Palm Street. You will see a park. Turn left." "You will see a park." And then, "There it is. It's on the right, across from the park." It's on the right, across from the park.
So, I hope this presentation gives you a better sense of how to give directions in English. And if all goes wrong, just remember, if you know prepositions of directions, you can just structure your sentences to get the idea across. I hope you enjoyed today's grammar capsule. My name is Ruben Lopez. See you next time.