Giving Directions

Hook

A tourist stops you: “Excuse me, where’s the station?” You know the way. Now you need the words to tell them: short instructions like turn left, go straight on and it’s on the corner.

Notice

  • Go straight on for about two minutes.
  • Turn left at the traffic lights.
  • Take the second right.
  • Go past the bank.
  • Cross the road.
  • It’s on the left, next to the café. / It’s on the corner.

Is there a subject (you) in these instructions?

Rule

Directions are imperatives (verb, no subject, as in Module 0): Go. Turn. Cross. Take.

InstructionMeaning
Go straight on / along this streetdon’t turn; continue
Turn left / right (at the…)change direction
Take the first / second leftturn into the first / second street on the left
Go past the…walk by it, don’t stop
Go through the parkfrom one side to the other, inside it
Cross the road / the bridgego to the other side
It’s on the left / right / on the corner / at the end of the streetwhere it is when you arrive

Put the steps in order with first, then, after that, and finish with where the place is: First go straight on, then turn right. It’s on the left, opposite the park.

Watch Out

  • ✗ You turn left. → ✓ Turn left. (no subject in directions)
  • ✗ Go straight. → ✓ Go straight on.
  • ✗ Turn to left. → ✓ Turn left.
  • ✗ It’s in the left. → ✓ It’s on the left.

Practice

  1. ___ left at the corner.
  2. ___ straight on for two blocks.
  3. Go ___ the park to get to the station. (from one side to the other)
  4. ___ the road at the traffic lights.
  5. Go ___ the bank, don’t stop. (walk by it)
  6. Take the ___ right. (street number 2)
  7. It’s ___ the corner.
  8. Correct it: “You go straight and you turn to right.”
Show the answers
  1. Turn
  2. Go
  3. through
  4. Cross
  5. past
  6. second
  7. on
  8. Go straight on and turn right.

Your Turn

Write directions from your home to the nearest shop or bus stop, in 4–5 steps. Use first, then, after that and finish with where the place is.

Connect

Put direction sentences in the right order with our Sentence Builder.

Try our Sentence Builder →

Our Word Chain Challenge is a quick game for building vocabulary.

Play Word Chain Challenge →

CEFR A1 — Spoken Interaction: I can give simple directions and instructions.

Azizul Hakim
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Printable worksheet (PDF) Pro

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