“It's about three blocks from here, maybe a ten-minute walk.”
A2 · Elementary9 minPhrases
When you need this
Directions also tell you how far. In American cities, the unit is the "block": the distance from one street to the next. Many US cities, like New York and Chicago, are laid out in a grid, so "three blocks down" is a clear, countable distance. On the road and in the country, Americans count in miles, not kilometers. One mile is about one point six kilometers.
People also measure distance in time: "a five-minute walk," "ten minutes by car." Those are guesses, and locals walk fast, so add a little.
Phrases
the distance from one street to the next in a city
two streets ahead, in the direction you're going
halfway along the second block
about two; it can mean two or three
a distance measured by the time it takes to walk
around one point six kilometers
in the middle, between two streets
at the next corner
beyond something; you go by it and continue
asks the distance in blocks
asks if it's close enough to walk
a warning about where to stop
Say it out loud
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Practice · 3 min
Say the line that fits. Situation on the left, one natural line on the right.
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Say it today
Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.