Learn how to look for directions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| In this lesson we’ll introduce the directions that will help you find the place you are looking for. Previously, we introduced “Is there a [some place] near here?” and “Where is …[something]?”. But while we know how to ask, we haven’t talked about how to understand the answer. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| This time we’re going to work on understanding what someone tells us. And we’ll go over basic directions. First, we have “go straight.” |
| ・ |
| In Czech, “go straight” is |
| Jdi rovně. |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Jdi rov-ně. |
| Once more: |
| Jdi rovně. |
| The first word, jdi, is a form of the verb that means “to go”. |
| (slow) Jdi. |
| Jdi. |
| And the second word, rovně can be translated as “straight” |
| (slow) Rov-ně. |
| Rovně. |
| Together, they make |
| Jdi rovně. |
| If you want to make the phrase sound more polite, we just have to change the verb conjugation. It will become: |
| Jděte rovně. “Go straight, please.” |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Jdě-te rov-ně. |
| Once more: |
| Jděte rovně. |
| ・ |
| Here’s how to tell someone “Turn left.” |
| Zatoč doleva. |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Za-toč do-le-va. |
| Once more: |
| Zatoč doleva. |
| The first word, zatoč is translated as “turn” |
| (slow) Za-toč. |
| Zatoč. |
| The next word doleva means “to the left” |
| (slow) Do-le-va. |
| Doleva. |
| Together, they make |
| Zatoč doleva. |
| If you want to make this more polite, you can say |
| Zatočte doleva. “Turn left, please.” |
| (slow) Za-toč-te do-le-va. |
| Zatočte doleva. |
| ・ |
| The opposite, “turn right” in Czech is |
| Zatoč doprava. |
| (slow) Za-toč do-pra-va. |
| Zatoč doprava. |
| As you’ve probably figured out, doprava means “to the right.” |
| (slow) Do-pra-va. |
| Doprava. |
| And the polite form to say ‘Turn right’ is: |
| Zatočte doprava. |
| (slow) Za-toč-te do-pra-va. |
| Zatočte doprava. |
| ・ |
| In real life, of course, you’ll need to know where to turn left or right. |
| Here’s “Turn right at the traffic light”: |
| Na semaforu zatočte doprava. |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Na se-ma-fo-ru za-toč-te do-pra-va. |
| Again at natural speed: |
| Na semaforu zatočte doprava. |
| Semafor means “traffic light.” In our sentence we have Na semaforu. This expression consists of the preposition na and form of the noun semafor, together translated as “at the traffic light”. |
| (slow) Na se-ma-fo-ru. |
| Na semaforu. |
| Then we have zatočte doprava, which we know means “turn right” in the polite form. |
| All together, it’s |
| Na semaforu zatočte doprava. |
| We can also use the informal version of “turn right” that we learned before. |
| Na semaforu zatoč doprava. |
| (slow) Na se-ma-fo-ru za-toč do-pra-va. |
| Na semaforu zatoč doprava. |
| ・ |
| Another way of explaining direction can be: “At the first intersection, turn left.” In Czech that is |
| Na první křižovatce doleva. |
| (slow) Na pr-vní kři-žo-vat-ce do-le-va. |
| Na první křižovatce doleva. |
| In this expression, na první means “at the first”. |
| (slow) Na prv-ní. |
| Na první. |
| Next we have křižovatce which is a form of the noun “intersection”. |
| (slow) Kři-žo-vat-ce. |
| Křižovatce. |
| And doleva means “to the left” |
| (slow) Do-le-va. |
| Doleva. |
| ・ |
| Here’s how to say “on the right”: |
| Doprava. |
| (slow) Do-pra-va. |
| Doprava. |
| And “on the left” is Doleva. |
| (slow) Do-le-va. |
| Do-le-va. |
Comments
HideHi listeners! Now you know how to ask and how to answer, please practice here!
Ahoj Ray,
Jasně, díky za otázky - tady jsou odpovědi:
1. Jděte rovně (Lit. Walk straight) AND Běžte rovně (Lit. Run straight) in reality both mean the same, which is "go straight". Běžte rovně is a little more common in everyday Czech, but overall they are the same.
2. Zahněte doprava AND Zatočte doprava both mean "Turn right". Just that "Zahněte doprava" can be used for both motorized vehicles and pedestrians, whereas "Zatočte doprava" is used for motorized vehicles only.
Doufám, že ti to pomůže.
Cheers,
Bára
Team CzechClass101.com
Ahoj!
Mám pár otázek.
What's the difference between the following sentences?
1. Jděte rovně AND. Běžte rovně.
2. Zahněte doprava AND
Zatočte doprava.
Děkuji předem!