Hi, everybody. Welcome to www.engvid.com. I'm Adam. In today's
video, I want to show you ways to ask for and give directions. For example, if
you're going to travel to another country; or travelers are in your city,
and they need some help — you can help them. It's a little bit of a beginner
lesson, so I'll speak a little bit more slowly. And I'm going to give you a set
of questions, I'm going to give you some vocabulary. And the most important thing
you need to understand is the verbs that you're going to have to use in order to
help somebody find their way. And I'll look at those in a moment. So, we're
going to start with the questions. Now, again, in English — just as in any other
language — there are many ways to ask for anything, really. Right? But these
are the main questions that you need to know, in order to get directions and in
order to understand someone who needs directions from you.
So, the more common... most common question is: "How can I get to..."
whatever place it is. "How can I get to the train station?", "How can I get to
the museum?", "How can I get to" whatever is a tourist attraction in a
city; your city, other cities, etcetera. Or, more direct: "Where is something?"
Now, a little bit, you have to keep in mind that if you're in certain
countries... for example, in Canada, you can't really go up to a person and say:
"Where is the train station?" Canadians are a little bit more polite, I guess
you could say; a little bit softer, so it's better to have an indirect
question, like this one: "Can you tell me where something is?" Or: "Can you
tell me how to get to?" Now, very important to remember: If you're asking
a direct question, like just the question: "Where is the place?" If
you're asking an indirect question, this is actually the question word: "Can" or
"Do". So, this is now turned into a noun clause. Right? So, then: "where
something is", and the "is" comes after the place you're going to. The "is"
comes before the place you're going to, so make sure you understand the correct
structure of the question. And... but, ideally, use the indirect question; it's
a little bit softer, a little bit more polite. So: "Can you tell me how to get
to the train station?", "Do you know where the train station is?" Or you can
use both of these clauses with either question. Now, another way to ask is:
"What's the fastest way to get to...?" You don't actually even have to use: "to
get". "What's the fastest way to the train station?" is okay. But "to get"
makes it a little bit more clear. And when you ask someone: "What's the
fastest way?" they understand that you want directions, and they will explain
to you how to get to the place. Now, very, very important that you study
these words. Okay? All of these are prepositions of place. You must
understand how they are used and when they are used in order to understand
directions. So, when someone is explaining it to you, they're going to
use all of these words; and a few other things that I'll mention in a moment.
So, I kind of ran out of room, so I put "past" at the top. But "past": "Go past
the first building, and the second building is the one you want." So,
"past" means, like, after — that's one. "At or on the corner of A Street and B
Street". "At the corner" means general area; "on the corner" means a specific
corner. But, again, that's a different lesson altogether. Both of these will
work just fine. "Kitty corner". So, "kitty corner" is basically when you
have a situation. So, you... you have an intersection. Okay? If something is
here, this is "kitty corner" — the opposite corner. This is simply across
the street. This is "kitty corner", when you're going in a diagonal. Okay? So,
that's important to remember. Not everybody uses this particular
expression, but some people might use it; it's good to understand it. "Next
to", so "next to"; "beside" — same idea. "Near". "Near" is a little bit vague, so
try not to use: "near" or "close to", but sometimes it's good enough, and
you'll understand why in a moment. "Not far from" — same. "In front of", "in
front of", "behind", obviously. "Across the street from". So, "across the street
from" something. "Between the bank and the library is the building you're
looking for." So, "between" two things. Make sure you always remember:
"Between", "and" go together, when you're talking about relationship of
place. "On the left" or "on the right". So: "If you're walking down the street,
you will see that store on your right; you will see that store on your left",
Where are we? So, now, if you come to North America, for example — Canada, the
US — most of the cities here are based on a grid. A "grid" means that streets
go one, two, three, four; one, two, three, four. It's very much like a
Tic-Tac-Toe map; looks like. In Europe, streets go, like, bendy and winding, and
all over the place. So, in Europe, they don't really use: "to the north", "to
the east", "west", etcetera. In North America, they use this a lot because
it's much easier to explain: "Go north on Fifth Avenue, head east on Eighth
Street, and you'll get to where you're going." So, we use: "north", "east",
"south", and "west" a lot, so make sure you understand how these directions
work. Mainly, what you need to understand is: Where is north? So, when
you're standing on a street, always try to get an idea of: "Where is north?" and
then you know all the other ones. It's... this is called: "orientation".
So, when you go to a new city, become oriented with the layout of the... of
the map; of the grid. Always get a map, figure out: "Which way is north?" and
then you'll start to understand. So, "to the north" means in the direction of
north, "on the west side". So, sometimes somebody will say something is "at the
intersection", but you want to be more specific, so they'll... they will tell
you: "It's on the northwest side of the intersection", because there are four.
So, if they want to specify... For example, if you're looking for a store,
but the store doesn't have a sign on the street — it's inside a building, for
example — so you'll say: "The store is on the buil-... is inside the building
on the northwest corner, in the basement. Go there, and you'll find it
no problem." Okay? So, you must understand all of these words in order
to give and receive instructions and directions. Now, most importantly, you
have to get comfortable with the verbs. So, let's look at those next.
Okay. So, now, we actually get to the hard part; this is where people
sometimes get lost. Because, remember: If you are giving instructions, you can
stick to one or two verbs, and just use it over and over again, and people will
understand. But when you are the one asking for instructions, and you're
asking a native-English speaker, there's many ways to describe or to give
directions to describe how to get somewhere. So, be a little bit more
aware of all the different ways we can actually give you directions. So, we're
going to look at verbs. Now, mostly, we're going to start with anything that
is "walkable". What this means is you can actually walk to the place; it's not
very far. Some places are too far; you may need to take a bus, or a subway, or
a taxi, etcetera. So, if it's walkable, just give them very simple directions.
"Head" or "go". "Head" and "go" are both verbs, and they essentially mean the
same thing. "Head straight" — just basically go straight; means the same
idea. "Head up" or "down", and the name of the street, if you know the name.
Now, generally speaking — and again, in North America, where we have the grids —
everything is in a line. "Up" means "north", "down" means "south". We don't
really have "east" or "west". "East" or "west" — say: "east" or "west". So:
"Head up Fifth Avenue", "Head down Fifth Avenue", depending on the direction
you're going. Or: "Go down", "go up", "Head north on Fifth Street" or "Main
Street". Again, "north", "south", "east", "west". "Go past". "Go past the
National Bank building", which you'll... you'll see easily because it's a
landmark, but I'll talk about that in a second. So, "head" or "go" — very
Some people also use the verb: "follow". So: "Follow this street until you get
to", but, again, that's a little bit more tricky because... especially if...
if streets are straight and all that, that's fine. This is a little bit more
common in non-grid cities. So: "Follow this street" because this street bends,
so just stay on the street and follow the bends until you get to somewhere.
"Follow until", and then whatever is going to come up. Then there's: "turn".
You can: "turn left", "turn right", "turn eastward" — means in the direction
of east — "turn south". You can say: "south" or "southward"; "east" or
"eastward". Both okay. Now, you could also say: "Take a right", "make a left".
These are only for left and right, that's why I put them in brackets. You
can't say: "take south", "take eastward" — that doesn't work. "Take a right"
basically means turn right. "Make a left" basically means turn left. This is
especially for driving. So, if you're driving and somebody is sitting next to
you and giving you instructions, they'll say: "Okay. Take a left over there. Make
a right at the next street" or "turn" — also okay.
Now, if the place you're going to is not walkable; is not within walking
distance, then you have to give some more instructions. So, "Take the number
one line" or "number ten line", or whatever the... if there's a name for
the subway line. Generally speaking, when we talk about "line", we talk
about... we're talking about subway or train, if it's above ground. "Take the
number three bus". I should put a "the" here. "Take the number three bus". Buses
have numbers, so we don't really use lines; we just say the number of the
bus. Now, you have to be very careful about giving directions with bus or
subway because in some countries, you might not be able to read the signs. If
you're coming to an English-speaking country — no problem; if you're going to
other places, but are still using English to get around, you might not
know the names. So, it's helpful if somebody tells you how many stops to go,
more or less. So: "Go five stops. Get off at the name of the station", if you
know it. Okay? Notice we use: "go" a lot. Now, sometimes you'll come to an
intersection or you'll come to a particular place where you're on the
wrong side — just "cross the street" or "go across the street", "go across the
intersection", "go across the park", whatever the case may be. Now, it's also
very important that you understand the differences between street names. We can
say: "Avenue", "Road", "Street", "Boulevard". These are the main names of
streets. There are smaller streets that you don't really need to worry about at
the moment; these are the main ones you're going to come across. So:
"Turn... turn south at Fifth Avenue", "turn left on Main Street". You can also
say: "onto". So, this is, again, more for driving: "Turn onto Main Street and
go straight" or "go east", whatever the case may be.
Now, sometimes they're going to give you relative directions. They're going to
tell you how to get to one place; and then from this place, they're going to
give you further directions. So: "When you get to the intersection", "when you
get to the mall", "when you get to the park, turn left", "go straight", "head
down", "look for". "Look for" is very, very useful because now we're
introducing "landmarks". "Landmarks" are things, or objects, or situations that
are very easy to see; very recognizable. The people who live in a place —
everybody knows what this place is, so it's easy to point out. Now, "landmarks"
can be "buildings"; and they're big, so they're easy to see. You can see them
from a distance. They can be "bridges" in some places, like in San Francisco:
"The Golden Gate Bridge" is a landmark. They can be "monuments" — these are
special constructions, like, to remember... to remember a war, or fallen
soldiers; or just a special person from history, like a president or a local
hero, etcetera. It could be "statues", it could be "plaques", it could be all
kinds of things. Some "parks" are "landmarks". If they're in the middle of
a city — there's only one big park — that's the one people will relate their
directions to, or any other landmark. So: "When you get to the park, cross the
park and on the other side you will see", and then... "So, if you're looking
for, then you will see this", or "look for the tall, brown building; and next
to that is the place you're looking for", for example.
Or if you know that a place is a little bit difficult to get to, what you want
to do is get the person moving in the general direction on the way to the
place, and then say: "Once you get to the park, ask... ask again. Ask somebody
else for directions." Because if I try to explain to you from here what to do
after you get to the park, you will be very confused. I'll just tell you: "Get
to the park", then somebody else will tell you what to do next. That's the
easiest way to do it. And when we... some people say: "You can't miss it."
Now, people have a lot of problem with this word. "Miss" doesn't mean, like,
something like: "Oh, you're longing for. It's gone from you; you... you miss it".
If your friend goes away for... from your city and you "miss" your friend —
that's one thing. Here, "miss" means not notice. So: "You can't miss it" means
it's impossible not to see it. And, again, we're talking about "landmarks".
So: "If you go to the park, go across the park; and you'll see a big, brown
building. You can't miss it. Once you see that big, brown building — go to the
left of it", "go to the right of it", "go behind" wherever the situation may
So, there. There you go. Those are some key vocabulary and key expressions that
you need in order to give and understand directions. Okay? Very important if you
want to go traveling. And keep in mind: If you're going to tourist areas
anywhere in the world, people there speak English, so they will be giving
you these kinds of instructions. They've practiced doing this for the tourists.
Okay? And so that's it for today; just to get you started on directions. If you
have any questions about any of this, please go to www.engvid.com, and there's
a comment section you can ask me questions. I'll be happy to give you
whatever answers I can. There's also a quiz that you can try to understand what
we learned here today. And that's it. I hope you like this video. If you did,
please give me a like. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel, and ring the
bell for notifications of future videos. And come back next time; I'll give you
more useful tips to improve your English journey. I'll see you again soon. Bye.