Key verbs for giving and following directions in French
The key verbs for giving and following directions in French are the everyday movement words used in streets, stations, buildings, and road trips. The most useful forms are aller, tourner, continuer, prendre, traverser, suivre, monter, and descendre.
Verbs for Giving Directions
- Tourner – to turn
- Aller – to go
- Continuer – to continue/go straight
- Prendre – to take
- Passer – to pass/go through
- Traverser – to cross
- Reculer – to back up
- Monter – to go up
- Descendre – to go down
- Suivre – to follow
- Sortir/Entrer – to exit/enter
In real direction-giving, these verbs usually appear with short place markers and landmarks: tourner à droite, aller tout droit, prendre la première rue, passer devant la poste. French directions are often compact and practical, so a single verb plus a preposition can carry the whole instruction.
Tourner is the main verb for turns. In conversation, it commonly appears as tournez à droite or tournez à gauche. For a roundabout or a change of route, speakers may also say prenez la première à droite or faites demi-tour.
Aller is the most neutral movement verb. It works for almost any route instruction: allez tout droit, allez vers la gare, allez jusqu’au pont. Because it is so general, it is often the safest choice for learners who want simple, clear directions.
Continuer and avancer both mean to keep moving forward, but continuer focuses on not stopping, while avancer suggests moving ahead physically. In street directions, continuez tout droit is especially common and natural.
Prendre is extremely frequent in route phrases because it links movement with a choice of road or exit: prenez la deuxième rue à gauche, prenez la sortie 3, prenez le bus 21. In French, this verb is often the best equivalent of “take” in navigation contexts.
Traverser means to cross something, such as a street, square, or bridge: traversez la rue, traversez le pont. Passer is broader and can mean going past or through a place: passez devant la banque, passez sous le pont.
Verbs for Following Directions
- Aller – to go
- Marcher – to walk
- Conduire – to drive
- Prendre – to take
- Suivre – to follow
- Traverser – to cross
- Reculer – to back up
- Monter/Descendre – to go up/down
When understanding directions, the same verbs reappear from the listener’s point of view. Marcher is especially common in city directions because many instructions assume walking: marchez jusqu’au feu rouge, continuez à marcher pendant deux minutes. Conduire appears more often in travel and road instructions, where the route is meant for a car.
Suivre can mean both “to follow” a route and “to follow” a person or sign: suivez la rue principale, suivez les panneaux. It is useful in stations, airports, and museums because signs often tell people to follow arrows or corridors.
Monter and descendre are essential in places with stairs, hills, or metro entrances. Montez l’escalier means go up the stairs, while descendez la rue can mean go down the street or downhill, depending on context.
Commands/Imperatives for Giving Directions
- Tournez à droite / à gauche – Turn right/left
- Allez tout droit – Go straight ahead
- Continuez /Avancez – Continue / move forward
- Suivez – Follow
- Passez / Traversez – Pass through / cross
- Retournez / Faites demi-tour – Turn back / make a U-turn
- Monte / Descends – Go up / go down
- Allez au nord / sud / est / ouest – Go north / south / east / west
The imperative is the standard way to give directions in French, especially in instructions that sound direct and efficient. Polite spoken French often uses vous forms such as tournez, allez, and suivez, even when the situation is informal. Singular tu forms such as tourne or avance are also possible, but they are less neutral.
Allez tout droit is one of the most common direction phrases in French. It does not mean “go straight” in the abstract; it means “keep following this route without turning.” In conversational French, tout droit often appears with continuez as well: continuez tout droit jusqu’au feu.
Faites demi-tour is the clearest way to say “make a U-turn.” It is stronger and more specific than retournez, which can simply mean “go back” or “turn around” depending on context. On roads, faites demi-tour is the safest phrase to recognize.
Prepositions of Place
- À droite de – on the right side of
- À gauche de – on the left side of
- À côté de – next to
- En face de – across from/opposite
- Derrière – behind
- Devant – in front of
- Dans – inside
- Entre – between
These prepositions are what make directions precise. Without them, a sentence may be grammatically correct but still vague. A useful route description in French often combines a verb with a landmark and a preposition: la pharmacie est à côté de la banque, le café est en face de la gare, le métro est derrière l’hôtel.
A few common patterns make spoken directions easier to follow:
- Tournez à droite à la prochaine rue – Turn right at the next street
- Continuez jusqu’au feu – Continue until the traffic light
- Prenez la deuxième à gauche – Take the second left
- Traversez la place – Cross the square
- Passez devant la mairie – Go past the town hall
- Montez les escaliers – Go up the stairs
- Descendez au sous-sol – Go down to the basement
French speakers often rely on landmarks rather than exact distances. That means learners should expect phrases like après le pont, avant le supermarché, or au coin de la rue. In everyday use, these expressions are often more helpful than numeric measurements.
Common direction patterns
French directions usually follow a few predictable structures:
- Verb + place: allez tout droit, tournez à gauche
- Verb + preposition + landmark: passez devant la pharmacie
- Verb + distance/time: marchez pendant cinq minutes
- Verb + destination: allez jusqu’à la gare
A practical detail matters with French street language: rue is a street, avenue is an avenue, boulevard is a major road, and carrefour is an intersection or crossroads. These nouns appear constantly in route descriptions, so they are worth recognizing alongside the verbs.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using aller for everything and never recognizing prendre, passer, or traverser
- Confusing devant with en face de; both can mean “in front of” or “across from,” but en face de is more specifically opposite
- Missing the difference between tourner à droite and prendre à droite; both can work, but tourner stresses the movement of turning
- Forgetting that suivre often means “follow the road/signs,” not only “follow a person”
These verbs, commands, and prepositions form the core vocabulary needed for giving clear directions and understanding responses in French.