What vocabulary is essential for giving directions in French
Essential vocabulary for giving directions in French includes common verbs, prepositions, and phrases used to describe locations and movements. Key terms are:
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Verbs:
- aller (to go)
- tourner (to turn)
- continuer (to continue)
- traverser (to cross)
- suivre (to follow)
- prendre (to take)
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Prepositions and locational words:
- à droite (to the right)
- à gauche (to the left)
- tout droit (straight ahead)
- près de (near)
- au coin de (at the corner of)
- entre (between)
- devant (in front of)
- derrière (behind)
- à côté de (next to)
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Useful phrases:
- « Où est… ? » (Where is…?)
- « Pouvez-vous me dire comment aller à… ? » (Can you tell me how to get to…?)
- « C’est loin d’ici ? » (Is it far from here?)
- « Tournez à droite / à gauche » (Turn right / left)
- « Continuez tout droit » (Continue straight ahead)
- « Prenez la première / deuxième rue à droite / gauche » (Take the first/second street on the right/left)
- « C’est devant / derrière … » (It’s in front of / behind …)
This vocabulary is essential for navigating and giving clear directions in French-speaking contexts. It helps one describe precise actions (turning, continuing), relative locations, and request or provide guidance effectively. This combination of verbs, prepositions, and set phrases is the core of direction-giving language in French. 1
References
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Unsupervised Methods for Learning and Using Semantics of Natural Language
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Les dictionnaires monolingues généraux du français “actuel” gratuits en ligne (début 2019)
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J’ai l’impression que: Lexical Bundles in the Dialogues of Beginner French Textbooks
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Common Youth Argot in Teaching of French as a Foreign Language in Higher Education
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A French corpus annotated for multiword expressions and named entities