how to go/get to somewhere
Hello Teachers
The below is a QA I found in a Japanese site for English learners.
Q: I was told that "Do you know how to go to the airport ?" is wrong. But I couldn't understand why it is wrong.
A: It should be "Do you know how to get to the airport?". "To get to the airport" implies "to reach the airport with making some effort", while "to go to the airport" means "to reach the airport naturally without making any effort". It is usual we need some effort to reach a certain place such as an airport, so it should be "how to get to the airport" rather than "how to go to the airport".
Now, my question. I know we have to say "Do you know how to get to the airport ?", but do you agree to the explanation by the answerer above?
Hanako
"Do you know how to get to the airport?" is the idiomatic question for asking whether someone knows the route to the given airport. "Do you know how to go the airport?" is understandable as asking the same thing, but is not idiomatic, is probably not what most native speakers would actually use, and also is somewhat ambiguous in that it could be asking whether the person in question knows the *means* by which one goes to said airport, rather than the *route* to go to the said airport. However, this is something that could be, of course, easily disambiguated in most cases in context. Even still, I myself would probably just use "Do you know how to get to the airport?", simply because it is the common idiomatic form for asking such.
Well, actually, I would limit my statement above, and say that many native speakers would probably prefer "Do you know how to get to the airport?", but even still, various native speakers may still use "Do you know how to go to the airport?", which for all practical purposes in context is equivalent to it meaning-wise.
While asking for the directions it's quite polite to say "excuse me", at the begining and "please" at the end. If used both it'd beformal and very polite.
U can ask such questions as:
How do I get ...?
Could/Can you tell me the way to...?
regards
Hello Jim San
Thank you very much for the detailed explanation. Yes I can feel clearly the difference between "I cannot go to the airport" and "I cannot get to the airport". Maybe we could say "I cannot go to the airport because I cannot get there" but probably not ""I cannot get to the airport because I cannot go there". Anyway thank you again.
Hello Travis
Thank you for the detailed explanation. I have asked the same question to some native speakers online and most of them answered the same as you. They say "Do you know how to go to a place" sounds as if it is asking means a bit more general to go to the place but much less idiomatic than "Do you know how to go to a place". Anyway I appreciate your help a lot.
Hanako
Hello Guest
Thank you for the kind advice.
Hanako
Please delete the part that I wrore to a person called Jim.
I agree with Travis, but would like to add a few thoughts.
As Travis said*, earing either sentence the person you ask may think you are asking what mode of transportation should I use/take/, or which roads/route** should I take?
If you want to know what roads to take, a more precise question is, "Can you give me directions to the airport, please?" Most Americans would understand this to mean that you are asking where to turn left, right, etc.
Many, many Americans will say, "Take/make/hang/ a left at..." This means, "Turn left at..."
"Hang a left" is slang, and is not a phrase you should use. It is very informal, and used by teenagers.
"The third light" means the third traffic light.
"Bear right..." [pronounced like "bare, where, wear, chair"] also means to turn right, but is often used when the road curves to the right, rather than making a sharp, 90 degree right turn.
"Keep right" means the same thing, but is sometimes used when there are several places where you need to decide which way to turn. "Keep right" means to/that you should/ always turn right. You will also hear "keep to your right." It means exactly the same thing.
"Sorry, I'm not from around here" means the person is as lost as you are.
=)
Joke:
A rich man from the city was lost in a rural area.
He saw a farmer working in his field near the road.
He asked the farmer, "Can you tell me how to get to A?"
The farmer says, "No."
"Well, can you tell me how to get to B?"
"No."
"How about*** C!!"
"Nope****"
"WELL, you don't know much, do you?!!!"
"No, but I ain't***** lost."
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***** "ain't" is a slang form which is used to mean many forms of the verb "to be/is." In this case, it is the same as, "No, but I am not lost." "Ain't" rhymes with "paint/quaint/Saint." Don't use it.
*Many Americans will write "said" when we mean "wrote."
** "Route" is pronounced in two/three very different ways in the US. You will hear "root" which rhymes with "boot," and you will hear "r-out" which rhymes with "out." You may also hear "r-ut" which rhymes with "put."
*** "how about" means, "Well, then, how do I get to C?" It's a way of shortening the question/making the question shorter./It's a way to make the question shorter.
**** "Nope," is a very informal, casual way to say, "No." It often has the added feeling of finality, "I am tired of your questions, the answer is still 'NO.' " Don't use it.
Sorry...
As Travis said*, earing either sentence =
As Travis said*, hearing either sentence
More about "Nope."
When I wrote that it can mean that someone is becoming impatient, I wrote that to advise you not to use it, so that YOU would not be misunderstood to be impatient.
If you HEAR someone say "nope" to you, do not automatically think that they* are impatient with you. They* probably are not.
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*"they"
This is a very, very common idiom. It is grammatically incorrect. The correct way to say what I wrote -- say=wrote, informally -- is:
If you HEAR someone say "nope" to you, do not automatically think that HE OR SHE IS impatient with you. HE OR SHE probably IS not.
But, we Americans always try to shorten what we say. We don't like to waste time. We also do not like to sound awkward. The "correct" sentence I just wrote would make most Americans run screaming from the room covering their ears.
=) Just kidding, but not by MUCH!!
Our language does not provide us with* one word that means "he or she," or "his or hers," etc. So, we force an existing word into service to fill that role/perform that function. We use "they/their." It is grammatically wrong, but sounds MUCH better to us than the very awkward "his or her."
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* "provide us with" means exactly the same thing as "provide us." It's an idiom.
'Be a thinker not a stinker.' -- what does this sentence mean?
I actually heard it in 'The Rocky' movie.
Hi, friend I don't know your qustion , can you tell me clearly than this one . I want to enjoin with qustion so much , would you mind , if I want find the eazy way to explain me . I think , you don't mind me ,and I hope that you will reply me back . thanks before , from me your friend .