English - Basic Location

Lesson 15 of 139

A learner looks at a simple map and points to places while practicing English location phrases like “Where is ___?” and “It’s over there.”

Goal: Find people, places, and things with simple location phrases.

Free English lessons with audio, guided practice, and speaking support.

Welcome back! Today we play a small game of “Where is it?”—very useful when a bag, bathroom, friend, or phone decides to hide.

Level A1: you’ll practice asking where one thing is, where many things are, and whether something is here or near here. You’ll also answer with simple phrases like “It’s here,” “It’s over there,” “It’s in ___,” and “It’s next to ___.” Tiny phrases, big finding power!

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Ask about the location of one person or thing using “Where is ___?”
  • Ask about more than one person or thing using “Where are ___?”
  • Say if something is here, not here, near here, in a place, on a place, or next to something.
  • Use A1 location phrases in a short everyday conversation.
A phone, keys, and a bag sit in different places around a small café, creating a practical English learning scene for basic location words.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

Where is ___?

Ask the location of a person or thing

Meaning: Ask the location of one person or thing.

When to use: Use it when you want to find one item, one place, or one person.

Tip: Use “is” for one thing or person: “Where is my phone?”

Where is my bag?
Ask where one bag is.
Where is Anna?
Ask where one person is.

Where are ___?

Ask the location of more than one person or thing

Meaning: Ask the location of more than one person or thing.

When to use: Use it when you want to find two or more items, places, or people.

Tip: Use “are” for more than one: “Where are my keys?”

Where are my keys?
Ask where more than one key is.
Where are David and Anna?
Ask where two people are.

Is ___ here?

Ask if a person or thing is in the current place

Meaning: Ask if a person or thing is in the current place.

When to use: Use it when you are checking this place: this room, this café, this office, or this area.

Is David here?
Ask if David is in this place.
Is my phone here?
Ask if your phone is in this place.

___ is here.

Say that a person or thing is in the current place

Meaning: Say that a person or thing is in the current place.

When to use: Use it to answer yes, or to show someone that the person or thing is in this place.

Anna is here.
Anna is in this place.
My bag is here.
My bag is in this place.

___ is not here.

Say that a person or thing is not in the current place

Meaning: Say that a person or thing is not in the current place.

When to use: Use it when someone or something is absent from this place.

David is not here.
David is not in this place.
My wallet is not here.
My wallet is not in this place.

It's here.

Point to a nearby location

Meaning: Point to a nearby location.

When to use: Use it when the thing is very close to you, often with pointing.

It’s here.
The thing is close to me.
Your phone? It’s here.
The phone is nearby.

It's over there.

Point to a location away from the speaker

Meaning: Point to a location away from the speaker.

When to use: Use it when the thing is not close to you, often with pointing across the room or street.

It’s over there.
The thing is away from me.
The café? It’s over there.
The café is away from here, and I can point to it.

It's in ___.

Give a simple location using a place

Meaning: Give a simple location using a place.

When to use: Use it with places like the bag, the room, the café, the box, or the office.

Tip: Use “in” for inside a place or container: “It’s in my bag.”

It’s in my bag.
The thing is inside my bag.
It’s in the café.
The thing or place is inside the café.

It's next to ___.

Give a simple location near another place or thing

Meaning: Give a simple location near another place or thing.

When to use: Use it when something is beside or very close to another thing.

It’s next to the door.
It is beside the door.
It’s next to my bag.
It is beside my bag.

Where are you?

Ask where the listener is

Meaning: Ask where the listener is.

When to use: Use it on the phone, in a message, or when you cannot see the other person.

Where are you?
Ask the listener’s location.
Anna, where are you?
Ask Anna where she is.

Is ___ near here?

ask if a place or thing is nearby

Meaning: Ask if a place or thing is nearby.

When to use: Use it when you want to know if something is close to your current place.

Is the bathroom near here?
Ask if the bathroom is close.
Is the train station near here?
Ask if the train station is close.

___ is near here.

say that a place or thing is nearby

Meaning: Say that a place or thing is nearby.

When to use: Use it to tell someone that something is close to this place.

The café is near here.
The café is close to this place.
The bus stop is near here.
The bus stop is close to this place.

___ is on ___.

say where something is using on

Meaning: Say where something is using “on.”

When to use: Use it when something is on a surface, street, page, list, or map.

Tip: Use “on” for a surface or street: “on the table,” “on Main Street.”

My phone is on the table.
My phone is on top of the table.
The hotel is on King Street.
The hotel is located on King Street.

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna and David are in a café. David is looking for his phone and bag.

Anna and David stand near a café counter and look for a bag, using simple English phrases to ask and answer about location.

What is David looking for?

Portrait of David in a English lesson dialogue

David

Anna, where is my phone?

David asks where his phone is.

Portrait of Anna in a English lesson dialogue

Anna

It’s here. It’s on the table.

Anna says the phone is nearby, on the table.

Portrait of David in a English lesson dialogue

David

Thanks. Where are my keys?

David asks where his keys are.

Portrait of Anna in a English lesson dialogue

Anna

They are in your bag.

Anna says the keys are inside his bag.

Portrait of David in a English lesson dialogue

David

Where is my bag?

David asks where his bag is.

Portrait of Anna in a English lesson dialogue

Anna

It’s over there, next to the door.

Anna says the bag is away from them, beside the door.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

You want to ask about one phone. What do you say?

You want to ask about more than one key. What do you say?

The bathroom is close to this place. What can you say?

You point across the room to a bag. What do you say?

Is David here?

Anna is looking at an empty chair. She asks David: ___ David here?

It’s next to the door.

David cannot find his bag. Anna points to the chair and says: It’s ___ the door.

Where are you?

Anna is on the phone with David. She cannot see him, so she asks: ___

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

Where is ___?

Ask the location of a person or thing.

Say this phrase out loud:

Where are ___?

Ask the location of more than one person or thing.

Say this phrase out loud:

Is ___ here?

Ask if a person or thing is in the current place.

Say this phrase out loud:

___ is here.

Say that a person or thing is in the current place.

Say this phrase out loud:

___ is not here.

Say that a person or thing is not in the current place.

Say this phrase out loud:

It's here.

Point to a nearby location

Say this phrase out loud:

It's over there.

Point to a location away from the speaker

Say this phrase out loud:

It's in ___.

Give a simple location using a place

Say this phrase out loud:

It's next to ___.

Give a simple location near another place or thing

Say this phrase out loud:

Where are you?

Ask where the listener is.

Say this phrase out loud:

Is ___ near here?

Ask if a place or thing is nearby.

Say this phrase out loud:

___ is near here.

Say that a place or thing is nearby.

Say this phrase out loud:

___ is on ___.

Say where something is using on.