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Transportation

Now you're going places!

TransportationNow you're going places!

1. General Travel

In the case of general travel, we use the preposition BY. To get from one place to another you travel by car, by bus, by train…etc.

I am going to get to Toronto by train.
I get to work by car.

You also use by for the environment.

You travel by air, by sea, by land, by land…etc.
To get to Australia you need to travel by air.

2. The preposition ON

There is a very simple rule for using the preposition ON. You use ON when you are speaking about large methods of transportation. The rule is if you can get up and walk around inside the method of transportation then you should use the preposition on.

For example, you can stand up on a plane, but not in a taxi. Using this rule we travel on a train, on a plane, on a subway, on a ship, on a bus, and on a boat.

I’m on my way, I just got on the bus.
I am on the plane now.

We also use on for transportation we sit or stand on. For example, you travel on a horse and on a bike because you sit on a horse and on a bike. You also travel on skis or on a skateboard because you stand on these too.

3. The preposition IN

What is left are vehicles we cannot stand up in. There are only a few of these. You travel in a car, in a van, or in a helicopter. Most of the time it is impossible for you to stand up and walk around inside these methods of transportation.

4. Walking

When you speak about walking you use both the prepositions BY and ON. Remember how we use BY to get from one place to another. Well, since we are using our feet to get from point A to point B we use BY.

I will go by foot to the office.

You can also use the preposition ON. Do you remember the rule for the preposition on? (see rule #2) If you can stand on the method of transportation then you can use the preposition on. Since we stand on our feet you can use this preposition.

It is best to go on foot, the parking is a nightmare.
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car

She drives to school in her car. She goes to school by car every day.
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truck

We often ride in his truck. It's not an 18-wheeler, it's a pick-up truck.
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van

His dad drives a van. He uses his van for work. He spends all day in his van.
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minivan

Their dad takes them to school in the family's minivan.
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motorcycle

She rides her motorcycle to school each morning. She goes to school by motorcycle. I see her on her motorcycle on the weekends too.
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scooter

They are taking the scooter this morning. You can see the daughter riding behind her mother on the scooter.
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bike/bicycle

He's on his bike on his way to class. When the weather is nice, he goes by bicycle instead of by car.


Don't forget to wear a helmet if you ride a bike!

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taxi

They're taking a taxi today. They enjoy riding in a taxi because they can relax. Going to work by taxi is not stressful, but it is more expensive than going by bus.
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bus

In the winter, I don't go to work on foot. It's too cold to walk. So I take the bus. The bus stops near my house and I hop on.


If you take the bus, you take public transportation.

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Uber

Do you take Ubers? Their app makes it very easy to go by Uber almost anywhere. It is nice to ride in someone else's car.
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subway/metro

I go to work on the subway. It's so much faster to get to work by subway than by driving because of all the traffic.
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train

We are going to be on the train for four hours. I like being on the train. My father likes travelling by train too.
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boat

I want to travel by boat and take a cruise. My mother loves being on a boat.
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plane

I travel by plane every summer. I enjoy watching movies on the plane. I do not enjoy the food.
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helicopter

My brother-in-law flies in a helicopter to go to work. Can you believe he goes to work by helicopter?

Review:

  • In the case of general travel, we use the preposition BY.
  • If you can get up and walk around inside the method of transportation use the preposition ON.
  • If you cannot stand up and walk around inside the method of transportation use then preposition IN.
  • To describe walking you can use the preposition ON and BY.
English Grammar lesson - Transportation Prepositions
Transportation Vocabulary & Phrasal Verbs - GET ON, GET OUT OF, RIDE, GO
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Anglais pré-collégial © 2023 by Rebecca Peters, Cégep Édouard-Montpetit/Entente Canada-Québec is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/