It often happens that you need to ask in English about how to get to a place and where an object is located. In the article, we considered where all kinds of objects are located, and what prepositions should be used to describe their location.

This article provides examples of questions and answers used to indicate direction ( directions ). These expressions will help you find your way in an unfamiliar city. They will also help if you use, for example, Google maps. At the end of the article is an example of how to get from the Tate Modern Gallery ( Tate Modern ) to St. Paul's Cathedral ( Saint Paul Cathedral ) in London.

Example: how to get from the Tate Modern to St. Paul's Cathedral in London

Google built a path for us and gave a clear explanation, however, we will present it in a more interesting conversational style, using transitional words and phrases for linking ( transition words and phrases ).

After leaving the Tate Modern, go right towardsMillennium Bridge. This is a pedestrian bridge through which you pass over the Thames. Then you get to Peter's Hill. Saint Paul Cathedral is already visible ahead. Continue walking along Peter's Hill. Cross the Queen Victoria street. There is a traffic light at the crossroads. You have to press the button and wait for the green light. Then continue to move forward. Just on your left you will see the National Firefighters Memorial. Continue going straight ahead and finally you get St. Paul's Churchyard. The whole way is about 1 kilometer.

After leaving the Tate Gallery, go straight to the Millennium Bridge. This is a footbridge that will take you over the Thames. Then you will come to Peter Hill. St. Paul's Cathedral is already visible ahead. Continue walking up Peter Hill. Cross Queen Victoria Street. There is a traffic light at the intersection. You must press the button and wait for the green light. Then keep moving forward. On the left you will see the National Firefighters Memorial. Keep walking forward and you will finally reach the courtyard of St. Paul's Cathedral. The entire journey is about 1 kilometer.

We all love to travel. We like to visit new countries and cities, we try to see as many sights as possible, we are attracted by architectural monuments. But sometimes a person can get lost while in an unfamiliar city. It is good if you have a map of the city you are visiting. But sometimes you can find your way only by asking the inhabitants of this city where you need to go. It is in this situation that you need to know the description of the city in English, or to be more precise, the name of institutions and buildings, transport and prepositions for orienting yourself in the area. Another situation is also possible. You host a foreigner (or work as a tour guide), and you need to show the person the city, telling about significant places. You can't do without a description of the city in English!

City and its parts

The word "city" can be translated as a town and a city, but the latter is more common. A town is a small town, while a city- big and lively. Each city is divided into districts ( districts), and every city has a suburb ( a suburb) and neighborhoods ( neighborhoods). The person may also be in a village(village).

As a rule, every city has streets ( streets), area ( squares), parks ( parks) and squares ( public gardens). And in the suburbs or neighborhoods, you can see the field ( a field), river ( a river) or channel ( a canal).

• Want to know how American cities get their nicknames? Then the article "" will suit your taste.

Adjectives to describe a city

The most important thing in describing a city is what impression it makes on the people who visit it. And here the following adjectives that you can use in English will come to your aid:

• ancient- ancient;
• historic- historical;
• attractive- attractive;
• lovely- cute;
• bustling- noisy, fussy;
• contemporary- modern;
• lively- lively;
• picturesque- picturesque;
• charming- charming;
• tourism– tourist;
• dull- dim;
• boring- boring.

Transport in the city

Traveling around the city, you will use public transport ( public transport). It is worth learning the name of the train ( a train), railway station ( a railway station), tram ( a tram), trolleybus ( a trolley bus), bus ( a bus), underground ( a tube/subway) and steamer ( a steamer).

• A convenient phrasebook on this topic is presented in the article " City transport"
• A detailed description of public transport can be found in the article ""

Places to visit

Attractions ( sights) in each city mass. When you are in another city, you will probably want to visit the theater ( a theater), museum ( a museum), cinema ( a cinema) or gallery ( an art gallery). You can enjoy music in the concert hall ( a concert hall) or in opera ( an opera house). Architecture lovers can be advised to visit the church ( a church), Cathedral ( a cathedral) or lock ( a castle).

• Choose your entertainment to your liking along with our article "".

Children and students study at school ( a school), college ( a college), university ( a university), and books are borrowed from the library ( a library). The names of all these institutions will help you find any attraction or place you choose to visit.

You can eat at the cafe a café) or restaurant ( a restaurant). Fans of shopping will be attracted by huge shopping centers ( shopping malls). Ordinary shops and supermarkets are named accordingly. shops and supermarkets (department stores). And also every tourist should know how the bank is called in English ( a bank), pharmacy ( a drugstore), hospital ( a hospital), police station ( a police station), post office ( a post office).

• In case of an emergency, you may need phrases from our article "". We hope that the words from the article will not be useful to you, but absolutely everyone needs to know them.

How to indicate direction in English

And now imagine that we need to tell or understand how to get to a museum. You can politely ask a passerby using the following sentence:

Could you please tell me where the (place) is? – Could you please tell me where (something) is?

We, of course, will use the names of objects in English in speech, as well as prepositions of the place, which will help to make a competent route. So be sure to take the time to memorize them.

Also be sure to watch the video. It has a teacher John explains how to correctly indicate direction in English.

Cities are growing rapidly. Scientists describe the problems of urbanization in their works, discuss at conferences, try to prevent negative consequences, but more and more people are leaving villages and urban-type settlements, moving to megacities. To date, the most populated cities are: Tokyo, Delhi, Seoul, New York, Jakarta, Shanghai. These cities are already like states with their own districts. It is quite difficult for a tourist who first enters a city with such a population to navigate the terrain. – orient oneself , That's why…

Today we will help you figure out how to navigate the city in English

In our hometown, we use such Internet resources as mapia.ua, google maps, map.meta, speed-tester.info and the like. By accessing the site, you can use the option of laying the route from point A to point B at indicating the address where you are currently located and the address you wish to find. In addition to driving directions, some services also offer directions that you can follow by public transport or on foot. A useful offer of such sites is an indication of the travel time. It is shown under the condition of average traffic congestion.

Car owners have great helpers in the form of a device that receives a signal from global positioning systems, determining the current location of this device. In the common people - GPS navigator . They have both pros and cons. It all depends on the manufacturer and assembly.

As for the pedestrian, here we have other possibilities. We can use the map, try to navigate the addresses, ask for help or tips from passers-by. It all depends on where you need to go, but in any case, before traveling abroad, you should prepare, whether it be a tourist trip or a business trip.

First of all, let's get a card: I need a map of the city. Have you got a map of the city?

On the map we will meet addresses, you need to be able to understand them:

• Saint Ann ’ s street - St. Anne's street
• King ’ s Scholars ’ Passage - Passage of the Royal Scholars
• Howick place — Hovik street (also used as square)
• Buckingham Palace road - Buckingham Palace Road
• Victoria Square - squareVictoria
• Redfield Lane – Redfield road (mainly narrow road)
• Pacific Coast Highway - Pacific Highway (Pacific Coast Highway)

Remember the following abbreviations:

• street — "St"
• Avenue (Avenue) - "Ave”,
• Lane - « ln»,
• road - « Rd»,
• turnpike(main highway) - "Tpke" and etc.
• The same applies to the apartment, Apartment – ​​“Apt”

Address example: We read m s its like :

Lucy KorderLucy Corder,

334 Westminster Avenue APT B3334 – this is the house number, Westminster Avenue, apartment B3

Brooklyn, NY,11230Brooklyn, New York Zip Code

You can also see how write the address correctly in English, in our other article.

Shall we continue? First you need to determine where you are at the moment -take one' s bearings, look around - look about . If your ability to navigate doesn't let you down – sense of location, then with the help of the map you will be able to proceed in the right direction -correct direction .

• If you want to ask how best to get to Kyiv, use the phrase: Can you tell me the way to Kyiv?
• You can ask where Saksaganskogo Street is located using the phrase: Excuse me, c an you tell me where Saksaganskogo street is?
• You can find out how to get to the Zoloti Vorota metro stop by asking the question: Excuse me, how can I get to Zolotie Vorota metro station?
• Without frills, you can ask where the metro station (any) is located by asking: Where is the metro station?
• You can ask a passer-by how far the metro station is by asking: Where is the nearest metro station?
• If you want to ask for directions to the Opera restaurant, you'd better use the expression: Can you tell me the way to the Opera restaurant?
• You can clarify whether you are following your path to Shevchenko Boulevard correctly using the phrase: Am I on the right way to Shevchenko boulevard?
• You can find out the location of the Museum of Russian Art by asking the question: Do you know where the Museum of Russian art is?
• If you want to ask which direction you should take to get to the city center, you should use the phrase: What direction should I take to get to the city center?
• To find out where the nearest supermarket is located, you can ask the question: Where is the nearest shopping center?
• You can find out where this road leads by asking the question: Where does this road lead?

In case you arrived in an unfamiliar city and got lost, do not hesitate to ask passers-by for help. It is advisable to contact people who are waiting at a public transport stop or look 40 or more years old. As practice shows, young girls or boys can be poorly oriented in the city, they themselves can be tourists or students from other cities. You should not ask suspicious passers-by for directions, because when they find out that you are a tourist and even lost, they can take advantage of your position (rob, take you to a deserted place and cause harm).
If an unpleasant story nevertheless happened to you, you need to contact the police, and to find out its location, you need to use the phrase: What is the best way to get to the Police office?

The main directions of movement were and will be "straight" - straight, "back" - back, "to the left" - left, "to the right" - right, "forward" - forward, "against" - opposite, "on the corner" - at the corner of.

Native English School wishes you to travel to different countries, gain new, vivid impressions, learn new languages ​​and get pleasant emotions. And let the words I have lost my way refer only to physical activity. See you at school, dear students! =)

Asking for directions

Excuse me. Sorry to bother you but I'm afraid I got lost. I'm looking for the Opera House. How do I get there?

I know this area quite well. So you have to go down the road that way and when you see the Napoleon monument you should turn left and follow the stone path.

right. Is there a sign near the Theatre?

No, sorry. But I am sure you won't miss it. It's a beautiful marble building with columns. It's next to the Art gallery, just opposite the fountains. If you need a box-office there you should take a lift to the basement level, then pass the cloakroom and walk straight down the aisle until you see the notice.

That seems quite far. Ok then. Thanks a lot. You've been really helpful. By the way is there a beach close to the Theatre? Could you tell me the way, please?

Actually it's about 2 miles from the Opera House. You could catch a bus and the third stop will be yours.

I would rather go on foot. I enjoy walking and admiring the city architecture.

I see. Then you should go around the corner on your left, walk along King's Road, cross the bridge and then take the second right at the traffic lights. You'll see the exit to the beach in about half a mile.

OK. Thanks again. Hopefully I won't get lost again.

Have fun at the beach!

Sorry. I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm afraid I'm lost. I'm looking for the Opera House. How can I get there?

I know this area pretty well. You need to follow the road over there, and when you see the monument to Napoleon, you should turn left and go along the stone path.

Good. Is there a sign near the theater?

No. Sorry. But I'm sure you won't miss it. It is a beautiful marble building with columns. It is located next to the Art Gallery, directly opposite the fountains. If you need a ticket office, you should take the elevator down to the basement floor, then go past the cloakroom and go straight down the corridor until you see the sign.

It seems to be quite far. Good. Thanks a lot. You helped me a lot. By the way, is there a beach near the theater? Could you suggest the way?

Actually, it's about 2 miles from the Opera House. You could take the bus and the third stop would be yours.

I prefer to walk. I like to walk and enjoy city architecture.

Clear. Then you need to turn the corner on the left, walk along Kings Road, cross the bridge and then take the second right at the traffic lights. You will see the exit to the beach after about half a mile.