In this episode of Aussie English I teach you guys how to use the expression “To head + direction”, such as “to head to”, “to head north”, “to head out”, “to head down”, etc.

Ep068: Expression – To Head + Direction

G’day guys. Welcome to this episode of Aussie English. Today, I’m going to run you through an expression, an expression that I use quite a lot in English, and that a lot of other native English speakers use all the time, and the expression is “to head somewhere”, “to head somewhere”.

So, “To head somewhere” just means to move somewhere, to move in a particular direction, and it’s often substituted in instead of verbs such as “to go somewhere” or “To come from somewhere”, “To come somewhere”, depending on the direction you’re going. And this expression also, “To head somewhere”, it’s often paired with words such as, “To head to”, “To head from”, “To head up”, “To head down”, “To head north”, “To head south”, “To head west”, “East”. So, it’s often paired with a word that infers a direction. “To head into”, “To head out of”, “To head over to”, you’ll often hear it like that. So, some example sentences we should go through first. Um… you could say things like, “I’m heading to work”, and this just means, “I’m going to work”. “I’m heading north up to the coast for the weekend”, “I’m going north up to the coast for the weekend”. So, you can see there it’s paired with “North”, suggesting that you’re going up, or you’re going north in that direction. “I’m heading out tonight to go clubbing”, that just means, “I’m going out to go clubbing”. Ah… “We’re heading into a tunnel”. “We’re going into a tunnel”. So, this would be like if you’re in a train or something and you’re about to enter a tunnel or you’re about to go into a tunnel, you could say that you are heading into a tunnel. And then when you’re coming out of that tunnel on the other side you could say, “Hey, we’re about to head out of the tunnel”. So, “We’re about to head out of the tunnel”.

Um… a few more examples, “I’m heading to Pete’s place this arvo.” “I’m going to Pete’s place this arvo”, it’s the same thing. “We’re going over to Pete’s place”. “We’re heading to Pete’s place”. Ah… “Each day I head to uni at 9am.” “Each day I go to uni at 9am”. “How’re you getting to the party mate?” “I”ll head there from work.” So, “How’re you getting to the party mate?” “I”ll go there from work”.

Cool. So, there’s not really much more to it guys. It’s just the kind of verb that you will hear all the time, “To head somewhere”. “To head up”, “to head down”, “to head north”, “to head south”, “to head to”, “to head from”, “to head into”, “to head out of”. You’re going to hear this all the time in native[ly spoken] English, especially spoken by Australians I think.

Um… So, I thought I would run you through a substitution drill here at the end where I will say sentences using the verbs “to go” or “to come” and you have to try and change the sentence to use the verb “to head” instead of the verb “to go” or “to come” that I will have put into this sentence. So, try and repeat the sentence after me with the verb “head” and then I will say after that one the proper sentence so that you can check that you were correct. So, listen and repeat after me guys.

I go to work everyday.

I head to work everyday.

We’re going to the party tonight.

We’re heading to the party tonight.

They’re going to the servo to get petrol.

They headed to the servo to get petrol.

And a side note there, you’ve got to remember that “Servo” is “A service station” where you buy petrol, and diesel and fuel for your car.

I’ll go to yours in the arvo.

I’ll head to yours in the arvo.

And remember there that “Arvo” means “Afternoon”.

Are you coming to his?

Are you heading to his?

When are they coming to the pool?

When are they heading to the pool?

The train is going into the tunnel.

The train is heading into the tunnel.

The surfer’s coming out of the water.

The surfer’s heading out of the water.

I might go in for the night because I’m tired.

I might head in for the night because I’m tired.

Did you want to go out tonight?

Did you want to head out tonight?

I’ll go there from work.

I’ll head there from work.

We’re going up the coast for a holiday.

We’re heading up the coast for a holiday.

The train’s going south to Geelong.

The train’s heading south to Geelong.

I’ll go downstairs once I’ve cleaned my room.

I’ll head downstairs once I’ve cleaned my room.

The family’s going north to the NSW.

The family’s heading north to the NSW.

Are you coming down to my place later?

Are you heading down to my place later?

So, that’s probably enough substitution drills there for you guys today. Um… they may be a little bit difficult because I’ve tried to say these drills today at my natural pace, and with my more natural Australian pronunciation. So, you’ll probably notice when you go back and listen again that they have been said pretty quickly and that I’ve also joined some of these words, I’ve used the contractions that I would use when speaking such as saying instead of “Want to” I’ve said “Wanna”, all that sort of stuff. So, if you’re finding it difficult remember that you can download the transcripts online and you can read the transcript while you’re listening to these episodes and practice, and then later you can always listen to these episodes again without reading the transcript in order to keep practicing and keep learning English, and yeah, keep practicing my pronunciation if you want to learn an Australian accent the way that I speak. If you don’t, and you just want to be able to understand how I’m speaking, and the words that I’m saying and how I’m saying them then just repeat the sentences in your own accent as you would after I say them.

Anyway, that’s long enough for today guys. I hope you’re enjoying the episodes and I’ll chat to you soon. All the best.