Reference · module 9
Places and directions
Everything this module explains, on one page.
There is, there are
Say what exists in a place.
- There is a shop on the corner. There are two shops on the corner. is for one thing, are for several, and there is not a place word here.
- The question moves the verb: Is there a bank near here? Are there any shops? This is the phrase that finds you anything in a new city.
- The negative uses no or not any: There is no bank. There isn't any bank. Both are correct and the first is shorter and more common.
The mistake you are about to make
On the corner is a shop.
There's a shop on the corner.
Many languages can open with the place and leave the subject slot empty. English needs something in it, and that something is there.
in, on, under, next to
Say where something is.
- in for inside, on for a surface, under for below. The keys are in the bag, on the table, under the chair.
- next to, between, near. next to is two words, between takes two things and and: between the bank and the shop.
- in front of is three words and its opposite is behind, which is one. English is not symmetrical about this and nobody minds.
The mistake you are about to make
on the photo
in the photo
A photo looks like a flat surface, so on seems right. English looks inside the image instead: in the photo, in the picture.
Asking the way
Ask for a place and follow the answer.
- Excuse me is how you start, always. It is not an apology — it is the word that opens a stranger's attention.
- Excuse me, how do I get to the station? or Excuse me, where is the station? Both work, and the first sounds slightly more natural.
- The answer will be turn left, turn right, go straight on, take the first left. Four phrases and you will get there.
The mistake you are about to make
Sorry, where's the station?
Excuse me, where's the station?
One word often covers both getting attention and apologising. English splits them: excuse me opens, sorry apologises for something already done.
Getting around
Say how you travel and buy a ticket.
- by bus, by train, by car, by plane. by with no article, always, and it covers every kind of transport there is.
- Walking is the exception: on foot, not by foot. It is one phrase and it breaks the pattern all by itself.
- At a ticket office: A single to London, please, or A return, please. American English says one-way and round trip instead.
The mistake you are about to make
by foot
on foot
By covers every kind of transport — by bus, by car, by plane — so walking wants to join them. Walking is the one exception: on foot.