English: Asking for Directions

Level: A2. Sooner or later you will be lost in a new town and need to ask a stranger the way. A small set of question forms, place words and direction phrases lets you ask politely and understand the answer.

By the end of this page you can…

…name common places in a town, ask the way politely, understand simple directions, and use place words like ‘next to’, ‘opposite’ and ‘on the corner’.

Places in a town

To ask the way, you first need the word for where you are going. Common places: the bank, the post office, the supermarket, the chemist (American pharmacy or drugstore), the hospital, the station, the bus stop, the library, the museum, the park, the market, the cinema, a restaurant, a café, a hotel, the town centre, a car park (American parking lot), the toilets (American restroom).

Asking the way politely

Begin with Excuse me — it tells a stranger you are about to ask something. Then use one of these:

• Excuse me, how do I get to the station?
• Excuse me, where’s the nearest bank?
• Is there a supermarket near here?
• Can you tell me the way to the museum, please?

Understanding the answer

Directions are built from a few verbs and prepositions. The main ones:

• Go straight on (American go straight ahead) — keep going, don’t turn.
• Turn left / Turn right — change direction at a junction.
• Take the first/second turning on the left (American the first turn).
• Go past the church — pass it and continue.
• It’s on your left / on your right.
• It’s at the end of the road / on the corner.

Place words say where something is in relation to something else: next to (beside), opposite (across the road from), in front of (on the same side, facing it), behind, between … and …, near.

A short conversation

You: Excuse me, how do I get to the train station? Local: Go straight on to the traffic lights, then turn left. You: Is it far? Local: No, about five minutes. It’s on your right, opposite the park. You: Thank you very much!

Example sentences

Press play and repeat. These are the phrases you will both say and hear when you ask the way.

Quick recap before you practise.

Practice

How to say it

A few direction words are hard to say — copy the sounds.

• Excuse me sounds like ik-SKYOOZ me — stress the second part of excuse.
• straight has a silent gh: say strayt, one syllable.
• opposite stresses the first part: OPP-uh-zit, and the middle vowel is weak.
• square sounds like skware (/skweə/) — the qu is a kw sound.

Quiz

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