#152 Asking and giving Directions in English

Hi, everybody! I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.

I'm going to talk about how to ask and give directions in English. For example, when you want to go to a restaurant, and you have to ask for directions.

Next, an exclusive mini-story to improve your fluency in English.

Remember that you can get the text of the episode at SpeakEnglishpodcast.com.

So, let's get started. As you know, it's very useful to know how to ask for directions when you go to a place for the first time, and you're a bit lost.

Okay, yes, I know that nowadays with smartphones, you can check the GPS and you don't need to ask for help anymore, but think about this: Asking for directions is an excellent opportunity to practice English.

In this episode, we will see the most common expressions with some examples:

All right, the best way to ask for directions is by using this expression:

"Excuse me, how do I get to _?"

"Could you tell me the best way to get to _?" 

For example, if you want to ask how to get to Times Square, you say:

Excuse me, how do I get to Times Square?

You could also say…

"What is the quickest way to get to the movies?"

"Excuse me. Where's the nearest (post office) please?"

"Excuse me. I'm looking for _."

And if you are very close to your destination, you could simply ask:

          "Where is the hotel?"

If you get lost, just ask this simple question: 

"Where exactly am I?" 

Okay, great. Now let's see how to give directions. 

Here are some useful phrases for giving directions on the street:

TURN LEFT

TURN RIGHT

GO STRAIGHT AHEAD

An example:

"Sorry, what is the quickest way to get to the city center?

"It is easy. Go straight ahead and then turn right.

They can also tell you to TAKE the first, second, or third, street, for example.

Let's look at the same example:

"Excuse me, could you tell me the best way to get to the city center?"

"It is easy. Go straight ahead and take the second street on the right."

(END OF THE EXTRACT).

 

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