Give Instructions in English: Make the Steps Easy to Follow
Practise giving clear instructions in English. Put the action first, keep each step focused, mark the order, and check what the listener should do next.
Put the action first, keep each step focused, mark the order, then check what the listener will do next.
“Open the app, go to settings, choose account, change the email and save it.” Nothing is grammatically wrong. The listener just has to carry five actions in their head at once. Clear instructions make the next action obvious.
Action → Detail → Next → Check.
Put the action where the listener can find it
Cambridge Grammar explains that instructions commonly use imperative forms. In practice, that often means the action verb comes first.
Original practice example
Open Settings.
The action verb appears immediately, so the listener knows what to do before processing extra detail.
Useful for app, device and everyday task instructions.
Instruction job: action first.
Take one instruction you normally explain with “you need to…” and rewrite it with the action first.
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Original practice example
Choose Account, then select Email.
Each verb names a clear action, and “then” marks the order between them.
Useful when one step depends on finishing the previous one.
Instruction job: action → next action.
Write two dependent actions and join them with “then”.
Keep each step focused
British Council TeachingEnglish guidance recommends staging multi-step instructions in the correct order and keeping the language concise. “One main action per step” is a useful practice rule—not a law of English—because it makes the sequence easier to follow.
Overloaded: “Rename the file, save it to Downloads, attach it to the email and send it to me.”
Focused: “First, rename the file. Save it to Downloads. Then attach it to the email. Finally, send the message.”
Original practice example
Save the file to Downloads. Then attach it to the email.
The two actions are separated because the second depends on the first being complete.
Useful when explaining file handling, forms or digital tasks.
Instruction job: focused steps.
Split one long instruction into two or three steps, each with one main action.
Put warnings and conditions where they matter
Cambridge notes that negative imperatives such as Don’t… can express direct prohibitions. In instructions, place the warning close to the step it controls.
Original practice example
Don’t close the page until the upload finishes.
The prohibition and the condition appear together, so the listener knows exactly when the warning applies.
Useful when an action must wait for a process to finish.
Instruction job: warning + condition.
Write one “Don’t…” instruction and add the condition that tells the listener when it is safe to continue.
Check the next action, not just general understanding
British Council guidance recommends checking understanding rather than assuming it. Instead of only asking “Do you understand?”, ask something that reveals whether the listener knows what happens next.
Original practice example
When you finish, tell me which screen you can see.
This check gives the speaker evidence about where the listener is in the procedure.
Useful when guiding someone through a multi-step task remotely.
Instruction job: progress check.
Replace a generic “Do you understand?” with one question or prompt that checks the next action or current step.
Followability Test: can someone act without unpacking the sentence?
Rewrite each instruction before opening the model.
Round 1: change an email address
“Open the app and go into settings and choose account and change your email and save it.”
See one possible rewrite
“Open the app. Go to Settings. Choose Account, then select Email. Enter the new address and save it. When you finish, tell me whether you can see the new address on the account screen.”
Round 2: send a document
“Rename it and put it in Downloads and attach it and send it.”
See one possible rewrite
“Rename the file first. Save it to Downloads. Then attach it to the message. Finally, send the message.”
Round 3: join a video call
“Click the link and if it asks for permission allow the microphone and camera and then wait.”
See one possible rewrite
“Open the meeting link. If the browser asks for permission, allow the microphone and camera. Then wait for the meeting screen to open.”
Correction lab: direct does not automatically mean rude
“You open Settings.” as a direct instruction
Classification: grammatically valid but context-dependent.
What a listener may understand: a statement about what they do, or an instruction depending on delivery/context.
Likely learner intent: give a clear procedural step.
Natural alternative: “Open Settings.”
Context note: imperatives are normal in many instruction contexts; directness is not automatically impolite.
“Don’t to close the page.”
Classification: wrong in standard English.
What a listener will probably understand: they should keep the page open.
Likely learner intent: give a negative instruction.
Natural alternative: “Don’t close the page.”
Context note: negative imperatives use don’t + base verb.
“You must to click Save.”
Classification: wrong in standard English.
What a listener will probably understand: clicking Save is necessary.
Likely learner intent: mark an essential step.
Natural alternative: “You must click Save.” or simply “Click Save.”
Context note: must takes the base verb without to; the imperative is often enough for ordinary procedural steps.
“Click on Settings.”
Classification: grammatically valid and natural.
What a listener understands: select Settings with a click/tap action.
Likely learner intent: give a digital instruction.
Natural alternative: “Click Settings.” can also be natural in interface instructions.
Context note: both forms occur; do not treat on as automatically wrong.
The next-action check
Give one real instruction today. Instead of ending with “Do you understand?”, ask the person what they will do next or what they can see now.
Make the next action obvious
Clear instructions do not need more words. Put the action first. Give only the detail needed for that step. Mark the order. Then check that the listener can continue.