In today’s lesson we are going to learn how to give and ask for directions, so that you don’t get lost again if you visit a Spanish-speaking city and you can get to the places without problems. This topic will be also very useful if you are planning to take an exam.
For this we will see some essential vocabulary, we have a video for you to see and listen the main examples and some interactive exercises so that you can practice everything you have learned. Let’s get to work!
Dónde está? (Where is it?)
Empezamos con vocabulario, repasa las palabras de abajo, las encontrarás muy útiles para nuestro objetivo:
- Cruzar (to cross)
- Tomar (to take a road)
- Seguir (to follow)
- Continuar (to follow)
- Torcer (to turn)
- Girar (to turn)
- Ir (to go)
- LLegar (to arrive)
- Estar (to be)
- A la izquierda (on the left)
- A la derecha (on the right)
- Al lado de (next to)
- Detrás de (behind)
- Delante de (in front of)
- Entre (between)
- Enfrente de (opposite)
- En la esquina (on the corner)
- Al final de (at the end of)
- ¿Dónde está la peluquería? (Where is the hairdresser’s?).
- La estación está enfrente de Correos, en el norte de la ciudad (The station is opposite the post office, in the north of the city).
- El banco está situado detrás de la iglesia (The bank is situated behind the church).
Grammar tips!
In Spanish there are two verbs for «to be»: ser and estar. To describe where things are, you need to use «estar«. You can also use «estar situado» to say where something is situated. It will be very convenient if you practice also the vocabulary related to the city (just click on the link to get to the lesson).
Giving and asking for directions in Spanish
Here is a video where you can see examples of how to give and ask for directions in Spanish. Stop the video to repeat the examples several times. Don’t forget, practice makes perfect!
We review ¿Cómo se llega a….? (How do you get to…):
- Sigue todo recto y el museo está entre la catedral y la biblioteca (Continue straight on and the museum is between the cathedral and the library).
- El parque está detrás del colegio. Toma esa calle y verás un semáforo. Luego gira a la izquierda (The park is behind the school. Take that road and you’ll see some traffic lights. Then turn left).
Grammar tips!
To give instructions, use the imperative (click on the link to form it). You probably won’t know the person’s asked for directions so you will you the «usted» form:
Siga todo recto y cruce la calle (Continue straigh on and cross the street).
Tome la segunda calle a la derecha (Take the second street on the right).