# Giving directions



## Antartic

What are the typical phrases when giving directions? Could you give me some examples?


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## cuchuflete

Hello Antartic...It all depends on the formality or lack of it.

Here is how I would tell someone to travel from my home to the nearest town, in formal terms:   

Go to the end of the street. Turn right at the corner. Proceed about 1/8 mile to the next intersection. Turn right onto Sheepscott Road. Continue approximately 3 miles to Route 1. Turn left. Go three miles to the exit ramp for Damariscotta and Newcastle.

Here are the same directions in less formal words:

Hang a right at the corner, take the next right, go 'til you dead end at Rt 1, then take a left and go 3 miles to the Damariscotta exit. 

The meaning is identical, but the tone and choice of words varies.

regards,
cuchuflete


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## jacinta

To my house:

Coming north on the freeway, take the Highway 116 exit, turn right at the stop.  Take another right at Caulfield and go down about a mile.  You will go through one stop sign and two stop lights.  When you come to a major 4-way stop, proceed straight through the intersection, take a right and then an immediate left.  We are in the middle of the block.


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## mirandolina

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> Hello Antartic...It all depends on the formality or lack of it.
> 
> 
> Hang a right at the corner, take the next right, go 'til you dead end at Rt 1, then take a left and go 3 miles to the Damariscotta exit.
> 
> 
> *Hang* a right...???
> What have you people in the States done to the English language? That's certainly a new one for me!
> Whatever was wrong with "Turn right"? It's even quicker to say!
> 
> As for "dead end"..... no comment!


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## mjscott

....There's a concrete median dividing the street in half, so you'll have to flip a U-ey* at the corner to get going in the other direction.

*I have never written _flip a U-ey_, so its spelling will definitely be in questions! It is pronounced _flip a YOU-ee_, and means to make a u-turn.



mirandolina--Hanging a left or a right is quite common in the land where we flip U-eys!


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## cuchuflete

Well, if hanging a right is offensive to your sense of purity, you are invited to hang a louie/louey...  You will find yourself in the  Dyer River soon enough.



			
				mirandolina said:
			
		

> cuchuflete said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hello Antartic...It all depends on the formality or lack of it.
> 
> 
> Hang a right at the corner, take the next right, go 'til you dead end at Rt 1, then take a left and go 3 miles to the Damariscotta exit.
> 
> 
> *Hang* a right...???
> What have you people in the States done to the English language? That's certainly a new one for me!
> Whatever was wrong with "Turn right"? It's even quicker to say!
> 
> As for "dead end"..... no comment!
Click to expand...


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## jacinta

mirandolina said:
			
		

> As for "dead end"..... no comment!



How do you describe a street that ends and you have no alternative other than turn left or right? It doesn't go straight ahead. This is a *dead end * in the US.


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## garryknight

mirandolina said:
			
		

> *Hang* a right...???
> What have you people in the States done to the English language? That's certainly a new one for me!



My sister (not from the States) used to say, "Hang a straight on..."


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## abc

Jacinta,

I guess *dead end* as a noun is quite common.  As a verb, however, is quite interesting....and maybe a little "strange" to mirandolina.


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## jacinta

abc said:
			
		

> Jacinta,
> 
> I guess *dead end* as a noun is quite common.  As a verb, however, is quite interesting....and maybe a little "strange" to mirandolina.




Haha.  I guess it does sound strange to dead end but that's how we say it!  

"You will dead end at Holander and then take a right."


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## te gato

Hello all;

Here we say:
    Peel down Mcleod, hang a right/left...and just a hop, skip and a jump from there you are going to have to pull a u-ey, and  you should come to a dead-end..

No wonder people are always lost here. 

te gato


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## Panpan

Dead end? Well, in British English, that would be 'cul-de-sac'.  <g>

Dreadful what those French have done to our English language, eh?  Foisting hard to spell words like chauffeur and champagne on us!

Panpan


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## mirandolina

jacinta said:
			
		

> How do you describe a street that ends and you have no alternative other than turn left or right? It doesn't go straight ahead. This is a *dead end *in the US.


 
I know perfectly well what a dead end is, in the US or elsewhere. I certainly don't consider it a VERB!


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## cuchuflete

mirandolina said:
			
		

> I know perfectly well what a dead end is, in the US or elsewhere. I certainly don't consider it a VERB!



Mirandolina,

You are most welcome to deny the existence of *dead end *as a verb.  There are those who disagree with your position.




> *399 entries found for dead end.*
> 
> *Main Entry:*  abolish *Part of Speech:* *verb* *Definition:*  eliminate *Synonyms:* abate, abrogate, annihilate, annul, call off, cancel, defeat, destroy, disestablish, dissolve, do away with, eliminate, end, eradicate, erase, expunge, extinguish, extirpate, finish, inhibit, invalidate, kill, negate, nix, nullify, obliterate, overthrow, overturn, prohibit, quash, repeal, repudiate, rescind, revoke, scrub, set aside, squelch, stamp out, stop, subvert, supersede, suppress, terminate, undo, vacate, vitiate, void, wipe out, zap
> 
> *Source:*  Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1)
> Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.


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## timpeac

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> Hello Antartic...It all depends on the formality or lack of it.
> 
> Here is how I would tell someone to travel from my home to the nearest town, in formal terms:
> 
> Go to the end of the street. Turn right at the corner. Proceed about 1/8 mile to the next intersection. Turn right onto Sheepscott Road. Continue approximately 3 miles to Route 1. Turn left. Go three miles to the exit ramp for Damariscotta and Newcastle.
> 
> Here are the same directions in less formal words:
> 
> Hang a right at the corner, take the next right, go 'til you dead end at Rt 1, then take a left and go 3 miles to the Damariscotta exit.
> 
> The meaning is identical, but the tone and choice of words varies.
> 
> regards,
> cuchuflete


 
So working backwards now I know where all of you live!!! <<Maniacal laughter and atmospheric thunder and lightening>> Sleep well...


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## jacinta

Panpan said:
			
		

> Dead end? Well, in British English, that would be 'cul-de-sac'.  <g>
> 
> Dreadful what those French have done to our English language, eh?  Foisting hard to spell words like chauffeur and champagne on us!
> 
> Panpan




Well, actually a cul-de-sac is a completely different bird, at least here in the States.  It has no outlet and is a semi- circle with houses around it whereas a dead end is formed like a T.  It can have an outlet, by turning right or left.  A street can dead end without an outlet and it is labeled as that:  No outlet or Dead end.


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## timpeac

jacinta said:
			
		

> Well, actually a cul-de-sac is a completely different bird, at least here in the States. It has no outlet and is a semi- circle with houses around it whereas a dead end is formed like a T. It can have an outlet, by turning right or left. A street can dead end without an outlet and it is labeled as that: No outlet or Dead end.


 
We call that a T-junction in the UK. I had heard the phrase dead-end before, but I must admit I had always assumed that it would have no outlet. That's interesting.


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## Artrella

mirandolina said:
			
		

> I know perfectly well what a dead end is, in the US or elsewhere. I certainly don't consider it a VERB!




Hi Mirandolina,  I would have never thought that *dead end * were a verb! But checking some dictionaries ... I've found these definitions:

*dead-end * intransitive verb  (past dead-end·ed, past participle dead-end·ed, present participle dead-end·ing, 3rd person present singular dead-end)*source* 
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*INTRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: dead-·end·ed, dead-·end·ing, dead-·ends
To terminate with no exit or possibility of advancement: The road dead-ends  at the lake. That job dead-ends at the end of the year.  * 

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 

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*
dead-end street*

n : a street with only one way in or out [*syn:* blind alley, cul de sac, impasse]
Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University  


Regards, Art


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## mirandolina

The fact that dead-end (with a hyphen) exists as a verb - which I regret to see it does, even in Webster - does not mean it is the best expression to teach to foreign students who may not understand when to use it. 






			
				cuchuflete said:
			
		

> Mirandolina,
> 
> You are most welcome to deny the existence of *dead end *as a verb. There are those who disagree with your position.


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## mirandolina

I would take up my cudgel with you too, about "peel" and "hang", but it looks as though I'm fighting a losing battle....

What the heck is "pull a u-ey" ? Make a U-turn? Why so, if they've followed the right directions? Guess I give up....  





			
				te gato said:
			
		

> Hello all;
> 
> Here we say:
> Peel down Mcleod, hang a right/left...and just a hop, skip and a jump from there you are going to have to pull a u-ey, and you should come to a dead-end..
> 
> No wonder people are always lost here.
> 
> te gato


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## gaer

mirandolina said:
			
		

> cuchuflete said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hello Antartic...It all depends on the formality or lack of it.
> 
> 
> Hang a right at the corner, take the next right, go 'til you dead end at Rt 1, then take a left and go 3 miles to the Damariscotta exit.
> 
> 
> *Hang* a right...???
> What have you people in the States done to the English language? That's certainly a new one for me!
> Whatever was wrong with "Turn right"? It's even quicker to say!
> 
> As for "dead end"..... no comment!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No comment meaning? I'm not sure what your point is.
> 
> As for what "we in 'the States' have 'done to the English language", the answer is the same as everyone else has always done to it: stretched it, played with it, had fun with it.
Click to expand...


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## gaer

mirandolina said:
			
		

> I know perfectly well what a dead end is, in the US or elsewhere. I certainly don't consider it a VERB!


Then write your own grammar book, publish it, and enligten the rest of us about what we should and should not say.


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## te gato

mirandolina said:
			
		

> I would take up my cudgel with you too, about "peel" and "hang", but it looks as though I'm fighting a losing battle....
> 
> What the heck is "pull a u-ey" ? Make a U-turn? Why so, if they've followed the right directions? Guess I give up....


 
mirandolina;
As was said "the fromality or lack of it"..
As *informal *as this is...This is how we would say it...and it would be understood by the people asking...
As for the "pull a u-ey" you must never have been to Calgary before...we have the worst street system...a lot of our streets are blocked off to trafic by a barrier..but continue past the barrier..therefore if you turn on to one of these you must pull a u-ey to go a different direction..I was also trying to keep my responce short.
te gato


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## Sharon

Mirandolina said:
			
		

> Make a U-turn? Why so, if they've followed the right directions?


Sometimes a street will have a median, a concrete block, or a guardrail which prevents you from crossing opposing traffic in order to turn onto a side street. So you may be able to turn onto another street if you are going south, but if you are headed north, you will have to make a U-turn, and backtrack in order to get to the street you want.

I have never heard the expression "*flip* a U-ey."  In my part of the States, we say "*bang* a U-ey"



			
				Mirandolina said:
			
		

> The fact that dead-end (with a hyphen) exists as a verb - which I regret to see it does, even in Webster - does not mean it is the best expression to teach to foreign students who may not understand when to use it.


In my Webster's dictionary, it has "dead end" both with and without a hyphen. 

 What would stop them from asking for an explanation? As we are teaching the expression to them, do you think we are not willing to explain it? Isn't part of the purpose of this Forum to teach expressions to foreign students who may not understand when to use them?



As far as giving directions, I am surprised no one gives landmarks. I consider those typical expressions...turn left at the first street after the gas station...turn right on the next street after the big brick church with the steeple...if you cross the railroad tracks, you have gone too far...normally, I would also give the street names, but Timpeac scares me!!  


			
				Timpeac said:
			
		

> So working backwards now I know where all of you live!!! <<Maniacal laughter and atmospheric thunder and lightening>> Sleep well...


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## Panpan

I always thought that U-ey for U-turn was Australian English, or perhaps that's just because I first heard it there.  Same with throw a right, and chuck a left.

Panpan


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## gaer

Panpan said:
			
		

> I always thought that U-ey for U-turn was Australian English, or perhaps that's just because I first heard it there. Same with throw a right, and chuck a left.
> 
> Panpan


Panpan, now we know that "U-turn" is common in the US, Canada and in Australia. So now the question is: where is it not NOT used. 

I never heard "chuck a left", though I think I'd "get the drift". 

Gaer


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## Narda

After the 4-way stop sign stay on your right and look for the house, it has a white bench under the oak tree


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## cuchuflete

Narda said:
			
		

> After the 4-way stop sign stay on your right and look for the house, it has a white bench under the oak tree


Then bear left at the fork, go on a ways 'til you come to a washout, take the dirt road for a while, and keep your eyes pealed for a yellow barn.  If you pass an old cemetary, you'll know you've gone too far.


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## sergio11

mirandolina said:
			
		

> I know perfectly well what a dead end is, in the US or elsewhere. I certainly don't consider it a VERB!


 
One of the wonderful characteristics of the English language is that you can use almost any part of speech as any other part of speech. It gives the language a flexibility and versatility that very few other languages have, if any. 

I have heard almost every word posted here, except U-ey, but I don't doubt that it is used somewhere in this country. The interesting thing about all this, is that it may even be used in some other part of your own dear Scotland or England and you may not be aware of it. It often happens that people from one neighborhood of a city have a different slang from people in another neighborhood of the same city. These things used to surprise me when I first came to the US, but they don't any more.


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## te gato

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> Then bear left at the fork, go on a ways 'til you come to a washout, take the dirt road for a while, and keep your eyes pealed for a yellow barn. If you pass an old cemetary, you'll know you've gone too far.


At the old cemetary pull a u-ey, continue back the way you came for ..oh a bit, until you hit the switch back, then meander on for a while....
te gato


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## Artrella

> At the old *cemetary* pull a u-ey, continue back the way you came for ..oh a bit, until you hit the switch back, then meander on for a while....






> Then bear left at the fork, go on a ways 'til you come to a washout, take the dirt road for a while, and keep your eyes pealed for a yellow barn. If you pass an old *cemetary*, you'll know you've gone too far




Guys... it is CEMET*E*RY ...."e" not "a" ...


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## te gato

Artrella said:
			
		

> Guys... it is CEMET*E*RY ...."e" not "a" ...


Oh no we got caught at the cemetery...
thanks art.
te gato


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## Mr X

gaer said:
			
		

> Panpan, now we know that "U-turn" is common in the US, Canada and in Australia. So now the question is: where is it not NOT used.
> 
> I never heard "chuck a left", though I think I'd "get the drift".
> 
> Gaer



Actually, in my experience, we usually say "chuck a U-ey" as well as "chuck a left" etc.

(There are lots of different options to choose from now, if anyone wants to do a U-turn!  

Mr X.


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## mirandolina

Yes, and keep your eyes pe*e*led, not pe*a*led.... unless they're ringing for joy... 






			
				Artrella said:
			
		

> Guys... it is CEMET*E*RY ...."e" not "a" ...


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## Artrella

mirandolina said:
			
		

> Yes, and keep your eyes pe*e*led, not pe*a*led.... unless they're ringing for joy...





Hi Mirandolina.... is this for me? Sorry I don't understand *to keep your eyes * *peeled...*Is it a saying or something?


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## mirandolina

No, it was for *cuchuflete*, who wrote the original, see message 28 in this thread.

To keep your eyes peeled means to keep them wide open, in other words to pay attention so that you don't miss anything.  



			
				Artrella said:
			
		

> Hi Mirandolina.... is this for me? Sorry I don't understand *to keep your eyes **peeled...*Is it a saying or something?


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## Artrella

mirandolina said:
			
		

> No, it was for *cuchuflete*, who wrote the original, see message 28 in this thread.
> 
> To keep your eyes peeled means to keep them wide open, in other words to pay attention so that you don't miss anything.





Thx Mirandolina for teaching me this phrase!


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## timpeac

mirandolina said:
			
		

> No, it was for *cuchuflete*, who wrote the original, see message 28 in this thread.
> 
> To keep your eyes peeled means to keep them wide open, in other words to pay attention so that you don't miss anything.


 
I hate this expression, because literally "to peel" is to take the skin off (eg an onion or an apple or a rabbit etc) so it literally means to have your eyes "peeled" open - which just makes me shudder!


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## mirandolina

It's not an expression I use myself.... 
I wouldn't "peel" a rabbit either - in fact I doubt very much whether I'd even skin one! It's not an activity that appeals to me (no pun intended).  





			
				timpeac said:
			
		

> I hate this expression, because literally "to peel" is to take the skin off (eg an onion or an apple or a rabbit etc) so it literally means to have your eyes "peeled" open - which just makes me shudder!


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## cuchuflete

apologies to all for the pealing in the cemetary.  Is there a medical name for the excessive substitution of 'a' for 'e'?

Back to the original topic--just follow the rabbit trail to the end,  double back towards the village, and go straight to the spell checker!

cheers,
Cuchu


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## gaer

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> apologies to all for the pealing in the cemetary. Is there a medical name for the excessive substitution of 'a' for 'e'?
> 
> Back to the original topic--just follow the rabbit trail to the end, double back towards the village, and go straight to the spell checker!
> 
> cheers,
> Cuchu


I can't tipe nything rite without my spillchucker. 

Regarding directions: I wonder if there are other people besides me who find directions containing landmarks very confusing. I would always prefer to have the exact names of streets, roads, etc. and an indication of how many miles (kilometers) to go before needing to make a turn.


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## timpeac

mirandolina said:
			
		

> It's not an expression I use myself....
> I wouldn't "peel" a rabbit either - in fact I doubt very much whether I'd even skin one! It's not an activity that appeals to me (no pun intended).


 
Ah yes, sorry - the verb would be "skin" for a rabbit - I was thinking in French terms (eg peau and peler being a cognate for peel). Sorry for any confusion.


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## timpeac

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> Is there a medical name for the excessive substitution of 'a' for 'e'?


 
imbacility?


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## te gato

gaer said:
			
		

> I can't tipe nything rite without my spillchucker.
> 
> Regarding directions: I wonder if there are other people besides me who find directions containing landmarks very confusing. I would always prefer to have the exact names of streets, roads, etc. and an indication of how many miles (kilometers) to go before needing to make a turn.


gaer;
mei nierthoer;
I am the total opposite..I need landmarks, I find it is easier for me to know...OOPs I am at the Macs store I've gone to far...It might have to do a lot with the road structure that each City has....ours..a mess..
te gato


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## cuchuflete

timpeac said:
			
		

> imbacility?



Tim,
That must be a result of the same bacilus that causes gariatric disorders.

Back to directions, and the landmark issue--- Around here, many, perhaps most, streets and roads have no signs, and names are a matter of folklore.

I've often heard people say that something is a mile or so past Cowshit Corner. Yes, there really is such a place! You can see the sign for the veal farm by doing a google image search for the name.

saludos,
Cuchu


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## Wordsmyth

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> _[...]  _ Is there a medical name for the excessive substitution of 'a' for 'e'?  _[...]  _
> 
> cheers,
> Cuchu




Bit late into this thread, but how about 'dyslaxia'?

By the way Cuchu, sorry for misspelling your name in post #25 of the "accent" thread - guess I must like symmetry (which is cr*p logic : symmetry would make it uhcchu!)   

 W


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## cuchuflete

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> Bit late into this thread, but how about 'dyslaxia'?
> 
> By the way Cuchu, sorry for misspelling your name in post #25 of the "accent" thread - guess I must like symmetry (which is cr*p logic : symmetry would make it uhcchu!)
> 
> W



Great diagnosis Doctor.  Given the quality of my spelling, you needn't worry about whatever you may have done eons ago in post #25.  

saludos,
Cuchu aka cuciu [more or less the same pronunciation in Italian] or Qxu [ditto Portuguese]


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## Poland91pl

jacinta said:


> To my house:
> 
> Coming north on the freeway, take the Highway 116 exit, turn right at the stop.  Take another right at Caulfield and go down about a mile.  You will go through one stop sign and two stop lights.  When you come to a major 4-way stop, proceed straight through the intersection, take a right and then an immediate left.  We are in the middle of the block.


Hello what's more idomatic "take the first turning to/ on the right" or "take the first TURN on/to the right "?


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## sdgraham

Poland91pl said:


> Hello what's more idomatic "take the first turning to/ on the right" or "take the first TURN on/to the right "?


Which version of English are you asking about? (See this existing thread: Turning or turn ?)


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