Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[olive2006]

A is to the south of B. (A and B are both places.)
What does "to the south of" mean?
What does "to" mean in the sentence?

[CP]

It's just another way to say "south of." San Diego is south of / to the south of Los Angeles.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[olive2006]

Thanks a lot.
Does "to" have any specific meaning here?

[CP]

No. It's just an idiom, I guess. Something that is to the south of a place is south of that place. There are several ways to express directions using the compass points.

New York is to the east of Los Angeles. You have to go east to get there, and you would probably take an eastbound plane or drive easterly to go from L.A. to N.Y. You would go from the west coast to the east coast, from west to east.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It goes from east to west.

An easterly wind, the east wind, comes out of the east and blows toward the west.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[olive2006]

Thank you so much!