Virtuous English AcademyTransport — A1 English Vocabulary
This A1 vocabulary list gathers 20 beginner English words about transport — cars, buses, trains and getting around. Every word comes with a simple definition, its British-English pronunciation and a natural example sentence, so you learn each one in real context. When you are ready, open the flashcards to practise and remember them for good.
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Using transport words in English
Transport vocabulary is what you need at a station, an airport or a bus stop, and the nouns are the easy half. The hard half is the prepositions, because English uses a different one depending on whether you are describing the method of travel or the physical vehicle — and a further set for getting into and out of them, which depends on how big the vehicle is.
What to watch out for
by car for the method, in or on for the vehicle
I go to work by car describes how you travel — and by takes no article at all: by bus, by train, by plane. But once you mean the actual vehicle, you switch: I am in the car, on the bus. The exception everyone remembers is on foot, which is not by foot.
get on a bus, get in a car
Big vehicles you can walk inside — buses, trains, planes, ships — take get on and get off. Small ones you climb into take get in and get out of: cars, taxis. It is a reliable rule with almost no exceptions, and it saves you guessing every time.
Traffic cannot be counted, and the words are British
Say a lot of traffic or heavy traffic, never many traffics. Note too that this list uses British terms: lorry is an American truck, the underground is a subway, and petrol is gas.
Words learners mix up
Two tables. The first is about pairs where size alone decides the word, which is not how most languages do it. The second is the three small things you need in your hand before the journey starts.
When size changes the word
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| boat | Small, and usually on a river, a lake or near the coast. You can see the whole of it at once. | We took a small boat across the river. |
| ship | Big, and built to cross the sea. A ship carries hundreds of people or a lot of goods. | The ship leaves at six. |
| motorbike | A bike with an engine. Without the engine it is just a bike, and the two are never confused. | He goes to work by motorbike. |
There is no exact line between a boat and a ship, and native speakers argue about it. The rough test that always works: if it crosses an ocean, call it a ship. Sailors add one more joke of a rule — a ship can carry a boat, and a boat cannot carry a ship.
Before you set off
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| ticket | The paper or phone screen that proves you paid. In Britain a one-way one is a single and there and back is a return. | A single to Oxford, please. |
| seat | The place you sit. Is this seat free? and Is this seat taken? both ask the same thing. | Is this seat free? |
| map | The picture of where things are, on paper or on your phone. You look at a map. | Look at the map on your phone. |
Buying a ticket is one of the few conversations you can learn word for word, and the British words are the ones to have ready: a single and a return, where Americans say one-way and round-trip. Note also that you buy a ticket and book a seat — the two verbs are not swapped.
Collocations that sound natural
Four vehicles and the verbs English attaches to them. Two of the verbs here are the ones you need when something has gone wrong.
bus
catch the busmiss the busa bus stopthe number 12 buswait for the bus
You catch a bus and you miss it. Lose the bus is a translation and means nothing here, because you never owned it.
train
take the trainthe train to Londonthe last trainthe train is late
The destination takes to, so it is the train to London. The train for London exists but belongs to station announcements.
car
drive a carpark the cara fast carin the carget in the car
You drive a car and ride a bike or a horse. Using drive for a bicycle is a small mistake that gets noticed every time.
bike
ride a bikego by bikea mountain bikepark your bike
Bike is short for bicycle and is what everybody says. In Britain cycle is the verb people use for the journey: I cycle to work.
Where each word belongs
Five words with a note attached. Two are short forms that have almost pushed the long word out of use, and one belongs to certain cities only.
- planeShort form has wonThe full British word is aeroplane and the American one is airplane, but almost nobody says either. Plane is the normal word in speech and in writing.
- taxiBritish · also <em>cab</em>Both words work in Britain, and the famous London ones are black cabs. Americans say cab far more often than taxi.
- tramSome cities onlyA vehicle that runs on rails through the streets. Britain has them in a handful of cities; Americans call the same thing a streetcar.
- helicopterLong word · rare in speechFive syllables and hardly ever needed in ordinary conversation. Informally people say chopper, which belongs to films rather than to travel plans.
- wheelAlso means drivingThe round part that turns — and in behind the wheel it means driving the car. That phrase turns up in news reports about accidents.
Sentences to try
Four frames for journeys and getting around.
- I go to school by bus.
- We can take a taxi to the airport.
- Get off the train at the next stop.
- The journey takes twenty minutes.
Questions about transport vocabulary
Do I say "by car" or "in a car"?
Both, for different jobs. By car answers how do you travel? and takes no article: I go by car, by bus, by train. In a car refers to the physical vehicle and needs an article: The children are in the car. Note that big vehicles take on rather than in — on the bus, on the train — and that walking is on foot, never by foot.
Is it "get on a bus" or "get in a bus"?
Get on a bus. The rule follows size: vehicles you can stand up and walk about in take get on and get off — buses, trains, planes, ships, and also bikes and horses. Vehicles you climb into and sit down in take get in and get out of: cars, taxis, small boats. It is one of the few English preposition rules with almost no exceptions.
Which transport words are different in American English?
Several on this list. British lorry is American truck; the British underground or Tube is the American subway; British petrol is American gas; and a British car park is an American parking lot. British pavement means the footpath, while American pavement means the road surface — the one pair where the difference could actually confuse you.