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Chapter 4 of 8

Out and About: Directions, Places, and Getting Around

Practice the Spanish you need to move around a town or city: asking for directions, understanding simple instructions, and using basic transport vocabulary.

15 min readen

New Words and Phrases (in English)

In this step you will learn key words and phrases to move around a town or city in Spanish: places, prepositions, and a useful question for asking directions.

WordPronunciationTranslationExample
el bancoel BAHN-kohthe bankEl banco está cerca de mi hotel.(The bank is near my hotel.)
la estaciónlah ehs-tah-SYONthe station (train/bus/metro)¿Dónde está la estación de tren?(Where is the train station?)
el restauranteel reh-staw-RAHN-tehthe restaurantBusco un restaurante barato.(I am looking for a cheap restaurant.)
la farmacialah fahr-MAH-syahthe pharmacy / drugstoreNecesito ir a la farmacia.(I need to go to the pharmacy.)
el hotelel oh-TELthe hotelMi hotel está en el centro.(My hotel is in the center (of town).)
cerca deSEHR-kah dehnear / close toLa farmacia está cerca de la estación.(The pharmacy is near the station.)
lejos deLEH-hos dehfar fromEl banco está lejos de aquí.(The bank is far from here.)
¿Cómo llego a ...?KOH-moh YEH-goh ah ...?How do I get to ...?Perdón, ¿cómo llego a la estación?(Excuse me, how do I get to the station?)

Language Pattern (in English)

Using "estar" with places

To say where something is in Spanish, you usually use the verb estar (to be) with places.

  • El banco está cerca de mi hotel.

"The bank is near my hotel."

Here, está means "is" (3rd person singular of estar).

Structure:

  • [Place] + está + [preposition] + [reference place]

Examples:

  • La farmacia está cerca de la estación.

"The pharmacy is near the station."

  • El banco está lejos de aquí.

"The bank is far from here."

Prepositions of place: "cerca de" and "lejos de"

Both cerca de (near) and lejos de (far from) are followed by another place.

  • cerca de + [place]
  • La estación está cerca del hotel.

"The station is near the hotel."

  • lejos de + [place]
  • El restaurante está lejos de la farmacia.

"The restaurant is far from the pharmacy."

Notice del in cerca del hotel. Del is a contraction of de + el:

  • de + el → del
  • cerca de + el hotel → cerca del hotel

With feminine nouns, there is no change:

  • cerca de la estación (not del la)

Asking for directions: "¿Cómo llego a ...?"

To ask how to get somewhere, use:

  • ¿Cómo llego a + [place]?

"How do I get to [place]?"

Examples:

  • ¿Cómo llego a la estación?

"How do I get to the station?"

  • ¿Cómo llego al banco?

"How do I get to the bank?"

Again we see the contraction:

  • a + el → al
  • ¿Cómo llego a + el banco → ¿Cómo llego al banco?

With feminine nouns, there is no contraction:

  • ¿Cómo llego a la farmacia?

You can combine this with por favor (please) to sound more polite:

  • Perdón, ¿cómo llego a la farmacia, por favor?

"Excuse me, how do I get to the pharmacy, please?"

Practice Dialogue (in English)

In this dialogue, a traveler asks a local for directions to the station and hears where other places are in relation to it.

On the street in a city, asking for directions to the station.

Traveler

Perdón, ¿cómo llego a la estación?

Excuse me, how do I get to the station?

Local

La estación está cerca del banco.

The station is near the bank.

Traveler

¿El banco está lejos de aquí?

Is the bank far from here?

Local

No, está cerca de aquí, a cinco minutos a pie.

No, it is near here, five minutes on foot.

Local

Su hotel está lejos de la estación, pero la farmacia está cerca.

Your hotel is far from the station, but the pharmacy is near.

Traveler

Perfecto, busco un restaurante cerca de la estación.

Perfect, I am looking for a restaurant near the station.

Local

Hay un restaurante muy bueno cerca de la farmacia.

There is a very good restaurant near the pharmacy.

Traveler

Muchas gracias, buen día.

Thank you very much, have a good day.

Check Your Understanding (in English)

Choose the best option to complete the Spanish sentence correctly.

How do you say "The station is near the hotel" in Spanish?

  1. La estación está cerca del hotel.
  2. La estación es cerca del hotel.
  3. La estación está lejos del hotel.
  4. El estación está cerca de la hotel.
Show Answer

Answer: A) La estación está cerca del hotel.

The correct sentence is "La estación está cerca del hotel." You need the verb **estar** for location (**está**), the preposition **cerca de** (near), and the contraction **del** for **de + el hotel**. The other options either use the wrong verb (*es*), the wrong preposition (*lejos* means far), or incorrect gender/article agreement (*el estación*, *la hotel* are incorrect).

Key Terms

cerca de
near / close to; preposition used before another place (cerca de la estación).
el banco
the bank; a common place in town where you manage money.
el hotel
the hotel; a place where you stay when you travel.
lejos de
far from; preposition used before another place (lejos de aquí).
la farmacia
the pharmacy / drugstore; a place to buy medicine and health products.
la estación
the station; can refer to train, bus, or metro station depending on context.
el restaurante
the restaurant; a place where you eat meals.
¿Cómo llego a ...?
How do I get to ...?; key question for asking directions, followed by a place.