Travel & Transportation
Travel & Transportation
Getting around by different modes of transport uses en for most vehicles but à pied and à vélo for the ones you straddle or walk — a small preposition pattern worth memorizing as pairs, since English 'by' covers all of them uniformly.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
en for enclosed transport, à for straddled/on-foot
en voiture, en train, en avion — but à pied, à vélo, à moto
by car, by train, by plane — but on foot, by bike, by motorbike
Vehicles you sit inside take en (en voiture, 'by car'); transport you sit astride, plus walking, take à (à pied, 'on foot', à vélo, 'by bike'). English uses 'by' (or 'on foot') fairly uniformly across all of these, so French's en/à split doesn't map onto any English distinction — treat it as a fresh pairing to memorize rather than a rule you can derive from the translation.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| en voiture | ahn vwah-TEWR | by car |
| en train | ahn trahn | by train |
| en avion | ahn nah-vee-OHN | by plane |
| à pied | ah pee-AY | on foot |
| à vélo | ah vay-LOH | by bicycle |
| un billet aller-retour | uhn bee-yay ah-lay ruh-TOOR | a round-trip ticket |
| la gare | lah gahr | the train station |
| l'aéroport | lah-ay-roh-POR | the airport |
| réserver une chambre | ray-zair-vay ewn SHAHM-bruh | to book a room |
| le passeport | luh pahs-POR | the passport |
| la valise | lah vah-LEEZ | the suitcase |
| Où est l'arrêt de bus ? | oo ay lah-REH duh bews | Where is the bus stop? |