You stand on a street. The houses on your side are number 23, number 25 and number 27. You need number 26. Do you keep walking, or do you cross the street?
If you can answer in two seconds, this page will feel easy. If not, it is a good place to start. Asking for directions in English is not about long sentences. It is about a few small tools that you can carry in your pocket, and a habit: you check what you heard.
The story and the lines in curly marks come from a podcast episode for A1 and A2 learners, linked at the end. In the episode, Nora arrives in a big city and her phone dies, so she has to ask four people for help. Sentences in italics are written for this page unless they are marked as quotes.
The Door Sentence
Before you ask for the way, you need the stranger to stop. Nora learns this fast. Her first try is too quiet, and “her voice is very quiet. The man doesn’t stop.” (05:49) Her second try works: “Louder this time. Excuse me! Can I ask you something?” (05:53)
The sentence is small on purpose. “It’s polite, it’s short, and people usually stop.” (05:32) Say it with a clear voice and a small smile, then wait one second.
If you are in a hurry, take the second sentence Nora uses with the man who carries a big box: “Excuse me, sorry, I have a quick question. Just a short one.” (08:41)
Then say where you want to go: I’m looking for the library. Nora says it this way: “I’m looking for Lime Street, but I don’t know the way.” (08:50)
Landmarks: Places You Can See
A kind stranger often does not know the street names. That is normal. Nora’s first helper says so: “I don’t know the street names well.” (06:16) But he does something smart. “So he used places he can see. A fountain, a school.” (06:57)
These places are called landmarks: “A landmark is a place that is easy to see.” (07:05) Emily gives four examples: “A church, a big tree, a red shop, a bridge.” (07:10) You can add a bank, a bakery, a bus stop, a library.
Paul gives the picture to remember: “I think landmarks are like breadcrumbs on a path.” (07:14) You do not need to know the whole road. You only need the next landmark, and then the next one.
When you ask, you can help the stranger use this tool: Is there a bank or a shop near it? And when you give directions to someone, use the same tool. Go past the bakery is better than Go to the second small street.
Moving Words: along, past, at, through
Four little words do most of the work in a direction sentence. The episode gives each one with a picture:
| Word | Meaning | Sentence from the episode |
|---|---|---|
| along | you stay on the same road | “Go along this road.” (06:20) |
| past | you walk by it, and keep going | “Go past the fountain.” (07:57) |
| at | at that exact place | “Turn left at the school.” (07:59) |
| through | in one end, out the other end | “Walk through the market square.” (12:53) |
Add two more words you already know: straight (Go straight.) and turn (Turn left. Turn right.). Put them together and you have a whole route: Go along this road. Go past the fountain. Turn left at the school. This is exactly what the first helper says to Nora.
Blocks, Corners and Traffic Lights
The second helper uses a word that stops Nora: “Walk straight on for two blocks.” (08:53) Her answer is a good model. She does not nod. She says: “Sorry, I don’t understand the word block.” (08:59)
The helper gives the meaning, and later the hosts repeat it more slowly: “A block is a piece of street, with a corner at each end.” (09:43) So go straight for two blocks means you walk past two corners. Count the corners with your eyes: one, two.
The same helper adds a sentence for the crossing: Cross the street at the traffic lights. Emily explains the verb: “Cross means you go from one side to the other side.” (10:02)
Between, Opposite, Across From, Next To
The last few steps often use place words. Each one answers the question Where is the door?
- between: “Between means in the middle of two things.” (10:15) Lime Street is between the pharmacy and the bookshop.
- opposite: “Opposite means on the other side, and facing it.” (12:59) Emily’s picture: “Like two people at a table. I sit opposite you.” (13:02)
- across from: “Across from means on the other side, facing it.” (15:33) Paul and Emily say it is almost the same as opposite, and both are good.
- next to: “Next to means very close, side by side.” (15:49)
- on the other side: It’s on the other side of the street.
Try them with the place in front of you. The café is next to the bank. The bank is across from the park.
Odd Numbers on One Side, Even on the Other
Now the puzzle from the start. Nora finds Lime Street, but the numbers go nineteen, twenty one, twenty three, twenty five, twenty seven. A young man at the bus stop shows her: “Here, one, three, five. Over there, two, four, six.” (14:07)
Nora understands: “The numbers on this side are odd. And the numbers over there are even.” (14:14) Number twenty six is on the other side of the street.
The hosts say this is common, but they are careful with the words: “In a lot of places, the houses on one side of a street are odd.” (14:52) Not every street works this way, so check with the people near you. Emily gives a picture that is easy to keep: “Streets are like an open book. Odd on one side, even on the other.” (15:10) And Paul gives the practical rule: “Look across the street. It’s on the other page.” (15:17)
So the answer to the puzzle at the top is: cross the street.
Say It Back Like a Waiter
This is the tool that Paul learned in the hardest way. In a small town, with a dead phone, he asked a woman at a fruit stall for the way. She spoke fast, he understood one word, and he said: “yes, yes, thank you.” (02:18) The result was twenty five minutes in the dark. Later he asked a boy on a bike, and this time he did something different: “I listened, and I said every step back to him.” (02:42) The boy corrected one word: “The second street on the left.” (02:51)
Nora uses the same tool. After the first helper’s directions she says: “Let me say it back.” (06:29) Emily gives the picture: “You order, and the waiter reads your order back.” (08:07) The waiter checks so the kitchen makes the right food, and you check, so your feet go the right way.
You can use three small frames. They are written for this page:
- Let me say it back. Along this road, past the fountain, left at the school.
- So, straight for two blocks, and then the bakery?
- Is that right?
Say the check even when the directions seem easy. Remember the phrase You can’t miss it. The man with the box says it, and Nora still goes to the wrong pharmacy, because there are two pharmacies on the street. Paul says it in the quiz: “So even easy directions need checking.” (18:51)
Two Rescue Sentences
Directions often come fast. The hosts say so: “That’s how directions often are in real life. Fast.” (09:36) You need two sentences that slow things down.
Sorry, could you say that more slowly, please? Emily says people are happy to slow down. Say Sorry first, then the question. It is polite and clear.
Could you show me on a map, please? Emily says “When you see it, it is much easier than words.” (12:28) The baker has no map in the episode, so he does something kind: “I have a paper bag and a pen.” (11:39) He draws the way. You can ask Could you draw it for me? if the person has a pen and paper.
One Short Street Conversation
This short conversation is written for this page. It uses only the kit above. Read it out loud, then cover the right side and speak the answers.
Mia: Excuse me, can I ask you something?
Stranger: Sure.
Mia: I’m looking for the library.
Stranger: Go along this road. Go past the church. Turn right at the bank. The library is next to the post office.
Mia: Let me say it back. Along this road, past the church, right at the bank. Next to the post office?
Stranger: Yes, that’s right.
Mia: Thank you!
Count the tools: a door sentence, a landmark, three moving words, a place word and a check. It takes about thirty seconds.
Fix Five Street Sentences
These five sentences are written for this page. Each one is understandable, but each could be easier for the stranger.
| A weak sentence | A better sentence |
|---|---|
| Where is street? | Excuse me, I’m looking for Park Street. |
| Yes, yes. (when you did not understand) | Sorry, could you say that more slowly, please? |
| I go left? | Let me say it back. Left at the school? |
| Is far? | Is it far from here? Can I walk there? |
| Please map. | Could you show me on a map, please? |
Eight Small Tasks for Your Kit
Try these tasks. The answers are below.
- Which of these are landmarks? bridge, Tuesday, church, happy, big tree, red shop
- Fill in: Go ______ this road. Go ______ the fountain. Turn left ______ the school. (along, past, at)
- A stranger says Go straight for three blocks. How many corners do you walk past?
- You stand at number 31 and you need number 32. Which side of the street is it on?
- Choose the better word: The bank is ______ the park. (across from / across)
- Write your check for: Go along this street. Turn left at the bank.
- The directions are too fast. Write the sentence you say.
- You do not understand the words at all. Write the sentence that asks for a drawing.
Answers
- bridge, church, big tree, red shop
- along, past, at
- three corners
- the other side of the street (31 is odd, 32 is even)
- across from
- Let me say it back. Along this street, left at the bank.
- Sorry, could you say that more slowly, please?
- Could you show me on a map, please?
Three Worries at the Corner
What if the stranger does not know the way? Then say Thank you and ask someone else, as Nora does. In the episode she asks four people. Leo says “Four strangers. That is a lot for you, Nora.” (16:34) Nora answers that “every time, it got a little easier. And a little louder.” (16:44)
What if I feel shy? The hosts give a picture: “Asking a stranger for the first time is like a cold swimming pool.” (17:12) The first try is the hardest. “The second is easier.” (17:20) Use the door sentence and nothing more at first.
What if my phone dies and I have no map? Look for landmarks and ask for one. Nora arrives with a paper bag map and a warm bread roll. You can too.
Hear It in a Real Conversation
If you want to hear Nora’s whole road, with Paul’s story, the four helpers, the quiz and a role play with short pauses, listen to My Phone Died Asking Strangers for Directions in a New City: Landmarks, Blocks and Saying It Back.
The Kit in One Card
Excuse me, can I ask you something? Go along, go past, turn left at. Count the blocks. Odd on one side, even on the other. Let me say it back.
One door sentence, a few landmarks and one check. You do not need to know the street names. You need to ask, listen and say it back.