Home town, neighbourhood and directions 家乡、社区与问路

The compass points 东/南/西/北 (dōng/nán/xī/běi) and 左/右 (zuǒ/yòu) are easy to muddle, and a distractor often echoes a direction that WAS mentioned but not asked for. ✗ picking 东边 (east) because it was said, when the question asks about 北边 (north). ✓ 邮局在北边，不在东边。(Yóujú zài běibian, bú zài dōngbian.) Check which direction the question actually asks for.

✗ 这家商店有很多东西。(names items present but no description) ✓ 这家商店很大，东西也很新，服务员非常热情。(Zhè jiā shāngdiàn hěn dà, dōngxi yě hěn xīn, fúwùyuán fēicháng rèqíng.) — This shop is big, the goods are new, and the staff are very friendly. Always add descriptive adjectives (大/小/干净/漂亮/热闹) about how a place looks or feels, not just a bare list of what is there.

✗ answering "你家乡有什么环境问题" with only 我的家乡很美 (positive language for a problem framing) ✓ 我家乡最大的环境问题是空气污染，因为车太多了。(Wǒ jiāxiāng zuì dà de huánjìng wèntí shì kōngqì wūrǎn, yīnwèi chē tài duō le.) Learn problem vocabulary: 污染 wūrǎn — pollution; 拥挤 yōngjǐ — crowded; 噪音 zàoyīn — noise.

旁边 (pángbiān — right next to), 对面 (duìmiàn — directly across), and 附近 (fùjìn — in the general vicinity) are not interchangeable. ✗ 银行在图书馆对面，就是图书馆旁边。(对面 ≠ 旁边) ✓ 银行在图书馆对面，超市在图书馆旁边。(Yínháng zài túshūguǎn duìmiàn, chāoshì zài túshūguǎn pángbiān.) Choose the location word that matches the actual position.

Direction verbs must be sequenced, and the reply must state WHERE the place ends up. ✗ 往右拐，一直走。(turn before "go straight"; no destination) ✓ 一直走，过了红绿灯往右拐，银行就在你左边。(Yìzhí zǒu, guòle hónglǜdēng wǎng yòu guǎi, yínháng jiù zài nǐ zuǒbian.) Order the verbs 一直走 → 过了…… → 往左/右拐, then state the final side, checking 左/右.

Many direction sentences give an earlier or wrong location BEFORE the real answer, often with 不是……而是…… (bú shì…ér shì…) or 不在……，在…… (bú zài…, zài…). ✗ answering "east" for 邮局不在东边，在北边 because it came first ✓ the true answer is AFTER 不在/不是 — here 北边 (north). Read the WHOLE sentence; the answer may sit after a correcting clause, not in the first direction-word.