How to describe locations in English

Conversation

In this lesson, you will learn to describe locations of a the buildings in your city. When describing locations, we often use some prepositions of place. Listen to the conversation below, pay attention to the expressions and phrases about describing locations.

A	What’s your town like?
B	Well, it’s quite old. There’s a big square in the town centre. It’s called Town Hall Square because the town hall is there. Here – I’ve got a postcard of the square. The Town Hall is the big building at the end of the square.
A	Is there a market in the square?
B	Yes, there is. There’s a market every Wednesday. And once a year there’s a French market, too.
A	A French market?
B	Yes, people from France come to the town, and you can buy French cheese and bread and things like that.
A	That sounds nice. What are the other buildings in the square?
B	Well, on one side of the square there’s a big hotel – The Angel Hotel. There’s a good restaurant at the hotel, and there’s a club in the cellar, too. We usually go there on Saturday nights. Opposite the hotel there’s a museum.
A	What kind of museum is it?
B	Oh, there are photographs and things about the town there. Next to the museum – between the museum and the town hall – there’s a café. When the weather’s nice, you can sit outside in front of it.
A	Where are the shops?
B	Oh, well, when you leave Town Hall Square, there’s a post office on the corner next to the hotel. Then you come into Penny Street. Most of the shops are there. There are clothes shops, shoe shops, banks – the normal places.

See the postcard the speaker mentions in the conversation.

• The post office is on the corner next to the hotel.
• The museum is opposite the hotel.
• The cafe is between the museum and the Town Hall.

 

Language Notes:

Useful phrases to describe locations

• There’s …
  There’s a post office next to the police station.
• There’re …
  There’re two big buildings on the corner.
• It’s called …
  It’s called the Town market.

Useful prepositions to describe the locations of buildings, parks, lakes, hospital, schools…

• on the corner (of)
• opposite
• next to
• between
• at the end of
• in front of
• on the left/right (of)
• behind

Examples

• The police station is on the corner of the Main Street.
• The post office is opposite the lake.
• The school is next to the hospital
• There’s a fashion shop between two tall buildings.
• There are two sport shops in front of the stadium.
• On the left of the City Hall is the kindergarten.
• The bus station is behind the train station.

Learn more:

• Talking about life
• Talking about likes and dislikes in English
• Talking about an accident

 

Exercise

Listen to the conversation again and choose the correct answer.

[rapid_quiz question=”What is the name of the square?” answer=”Town Hall Square” options=”Market Square|Town Hall Square” notes=””]

[rapid_quiz question=”When is the market?” answer=”Every Wednesday” options=”Every Wednesday|Every Thursday” notes=””]

[rapid_quiz question=”What happens in the square once a year?” answer=”a French market” options=”a music festival|a French market” notes=””]

[rapid_quiz question=”What is the name of the Hotel?” answer=”The Angel Hotel” options=”The Lancaster Hotel|The Angel Hotel” notes=””]

[rapid_quiz question=”What is the hotel cellar?” answer=”a club” options=”a club|a hairdresser’s” notes=””]

[rapid_quiz question=”Which shops does the speaker mention?” answer=”clothes shops” options=”book shops|clothes shops” notes=””]