Learn how to give directions in English using the imperative mood
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Ryan: I’m Ryan. |
| Chihiro: Hey, everyone! I’m Chihiro. And thanks again for being here with us. Giving Directions in English. |
| Ryan: In this lesson, you'll will learn how to give directions. |
| Chihiro: This conversation takes place just outside the office. |
| Ryan: The conversation is between Sandra and Teddy. |
| Chihiro: The speakers are friends, so they'll be speaking casually. |
| Ryan: Alright, let’s have a listen. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Sandra: So, where's your friend's house? |
| Teddy: Go South on 101 and take the Reed exit. Drive down Reed Street and make a left onto Fifth Street. It's on the corner of Fifth and San Carlos. It's the small white house with the blue windows. It has a gnome in the front yard. You can't miss it. |
| Sandra: Oh, I think I've seen it. The gnome is quite eye-catching. Your friend is an art student, right? |
| Teddy: Was…she just graduated in May. When you see her place, you can definitely tell she's an art student. |
| Sandra: Its got a look to it? |
| Teddy: Yeah, definitely. She's got paintings by all these famous artists. I don't know half of the painters, but I know they're definitely famous. |
| Sandra: Oh yeah? |
| Teddy: Yeah, I was there just yesterday. She had one of a bunch of Campbell's soup and was trying to decide where to put it. |
| Sandra: Oh yeah, I know that one. That would make me hungry all the time if I had it up on my wall! |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Sandra: So, where's your friend's house? |
| Teddy: Go South on 101 and take the Reed exit. Drive down Reed Street and make a left onto Fifth Street. It's on the corner of Fifth and San Carlos. It's the small white house with the blue windows. It has a gnome in the front yard. You can't miss it. |
| Sandra: Oh, I think I've seen it. The gnome is quite eye-catching. Your friend is an art student, right? |
| Teddy: Was…she just graduated in May. When you see her place, you can definitely tell she's an art student. |
| Sandra: Its got a look to it? |
| Teddy: Yeah, definitely. She's got paintings by all these famous artists. I don't know half of the painters, but I know they're definitely famous. |
| Sandra: Oh yeah? |
| Teddy: Yeah, I was there just yesterday. She had one of a bunch of Campbell's soup and was trying to decide where to put it. |
| Sandra: Oh yeah, I know that one. That would make me hungry all the time if I had it up on my wall! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Chihiro: Okay, now thanks to technology, we don't have to ask for directions to many places as much as we used to. |
| Ryan: Yeah, getting to places is a lot easier these days than they used to. |
| Chihiro: This doesn't mean that you can't ask for directions anymore, of course. But it's common to just type in an address on a personal GPS navigation device either in your car or on your phone if you have one, or you can print them out off the Internet. |
| Ryan: Chihiro, do you ever ask for directions? |
| Chihiro: I actually still do, although my phone does has GPS, I still think it's easier to ask somebody really quickly and get a response, then trying to figure it out by myself. |
| Ryan: Yes, that's true, sometimes it's just easier to ask. That's when knowing how to say and give directions is useful. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Ryan: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Chihiro: south [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: direction opposite of north |
| Chihiro: south [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: south [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: exit [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: leading road off the highway |
| Chihiro: exit [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: exit [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: gnome [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: statue of a creature that guards treasures in stories usually placed in a garden for decoration |
| Chihiro: gnome [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: gnome [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: yard [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: outdoor area next to a house |
| Chihiro: yard [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: yard [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: to graduate [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: to earn a degree from a school |
| Chihiro: to graduate [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: to graduate [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: look [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: appearance or characteristic of something |
| Chihiro: look [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: look [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: bunch [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: similar things grouped together |
| Chihiro: bunch [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: bunch [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Chihiro: Campbell's [natural native speed] |
| Ryan: name of brand that also makes canned soup |
| Chihiro: Campbell's [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chihiro: Campbell's [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Ryan: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the phrases from this lesson. |
| Chihiro: The first phrase is, |
| Ryan: "you can't miss it." |
| Chihiro: We use it when the person has never seen the thing being described, and it also reassures the person that it is very easy to find. |
| Ryan: Right, so if I say, “The building is blue with yellow polk-a-dots, you can’t miss it,” then that means the building stands out enough so you will know it right away. |
| Chihiro: That would be an interesting looking building. Okay, the next phrase we'll look at is, |
| Ryan: "Eye catching" |
| Chihiro: Sandra mentions that the gnome is quite "eye-catching." What this means is that the gnome draws attention. We often use this phrase for things that are attractive and therefore draws the eye of a person. |
| Ryan: Right, so the blue building with yellow polk-a-dots is impossible to miss because it's eye-catching. |
| Chihiro: Yes. That would definitely be an eye-cathing building. |
Lesson focus |
| Chihiro: The focus of this lesson is giving directions. When giving directions, we use the imperative form. However, this doesn't mean that the speech sounds commanding or rude. Even if a stranger asked you on the street, you can reply in this form. |
| Ryan: There are several ways to say the same thing so be prepared for a variety. |
| Chihiro: Let's start with something simple. We can say, |
| Ryan: "Drive down" |
| Chihiro: or |
| Ryan: "Drive up" |
| Chihiro: or |
| Ryan: "Go straight" |
| Chihiro: To mean the same thing. Except the first two are used for drivers only. The third one can be used for both. |
| Ryan: Okay, the next one is |
| Chihiro: "Turn left" |
| Ryan: or |
| Chihiro: "turn right" |
| Ryan: Which can also be said as, |
| Chihiro: "make a left" "make a right" |
| Ryan: You can use those for drivers and walkers. Now if somebody says, |
| Chihiro: "It's on your left" |
| Ryan: With the preposition "on", this doesn't mean to turn, but whatever you're looking for is located left. |
| Chihiro: A little preposition difference goes a long way. Okay, and the next ones you can use only for drivers. |
| Ryan: "Take the first exit" |
| Chihiro: Or of course you can substitute the first with second or next or third or whatever number. You probably don't use higher numbers too much though. |
| Ryan: No, although I guess you could! |
| Chihiro: True. |
| Ryan: Here's another one you might hear, |
| Chihiro: "Until you see..." |
| Ryan: as in, |
| Chihiro: "Until you see a gas station" |
| Ryan: And the rest are pretty common. |
| Chihiro: "On the corner" |
| Ryan: "Across the street from" |
| Chihiro: "Next to" |
| Ryan: You've probably heard of those when learning your prepositions. |
| Chihiro: Okay. let's take a look at some of these phrases in a sentence, it'll be much easier to see how they work this way. You can see how Teddy uses several of these phrases when giving directions to Sandra. He says, |
| Ryan: “Go South on 101 and take the Reed exit. Drive down Reed Street and make a left onto Fifth Street. It's on the corner of Fifth and San Carlos.” |
| Chihiro: Those are very clear driving directions. Okay, Ryan, let's give an example of how pedestrians might be talking. |
| Ryan: Sure, if I say, "Excuse me, do you know where the post office is?" |
| Chihiro: "Sure, go straight down this street until you see the lights. Make a right onto the main street and walk straight down toward the park. It's past the library on the left side." |
| Ryan: "Okay so that was straight down the street until the lights, get onto the main street and walk toward the park... and then...” |
| Chihiro: “Pass the library on the left side, and you'll see it on your right." |
| Ryan: Past the library on the left and it's on my right. Got it. |
| Chihiro: You can use your hands and point in the right direction. If you ask somebody, try repeating the directions the person says so that you know for sure that you understand. If somebody asks you, you might have to repeat the directions to clarify. |
| Ryan: Especially if they're long directions. |
| Chihiro: Okay, I think that's enough directions for today! |
Outro |
| Ryan: That just about does it for today. See you guys soon! |
| Chihiro: See you all later! |
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