In this weekly post, we bring more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary to English language learners. In this series of language tips to accompany the Real Vocabulary theme we look at how you can expand your vocabulary in English by using different words and expressions instead of core vocabulary items.
This set of language tips explores the words and phrases we use to describe movement. This week’s tip looks at phrases that describe how someone travels:
go by air or by sea or by land to travel in a plane, a ship, or a road vehicle:
- The flowers are sent all over Europe by air.
- Going by sea can be very relaxing.
take or catch a bus or train or plane to use a bus, train or plane as a means of transport:
- For longer journeys I prefer to take the train.
- We took the bus into town.
- We drove to the airport and caught a plane to Nice.
go by bus or car or train or bike or coach or plane to travel using a bus, car, train, bike, coach or plane as a means of transport:
- We went to Brussels by train.
- If you go by coach it’s cheaper but it takes longer.
In informal English you can say that someone busses or bikes around or across a place, for example:
- I was bussing around west Belfast daily during the festival.
- We will be biking across Texas for charity.
You can also say that someone busses it or trains it. This is also informal:
- I bussed it over to the Convention Center.
- You can train it with VIA or take a bus with Greyhound.
Did you know that Macmillan Dictionary includes a full thesaurus? This page lists more ways to say ‘to travel‘.
More language tips
Browse the list under the ‘language tips‘ tag here on the blog for more useful language tips.
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