Prepositions for Transport

GRAMMAR for IELTS: Prepositions for transport

Especially in the IELTS Speaking test, it is quite likely that you will want to talk about using transport. Knowing whether you are ON or IN a form of transport is important.

For the following forms of transport we use ON:

a train; a bus; a tram; a coach; a plane; a helicopter; a bicycle; a bike; a motorbike; a scooter; a horse; a camel; a boat; a ship; a yacht; a submarine.

It is possible to use IN with some of these forms of transport if a) they have a ceiling which covers you and b) you are not describing your journey. For example: ‘We were ON the plane for nearly nine hours; it was the worst flight of my life.’ but ‘I was already IN the plane and the reception on my phone was terrible.’

For the following forms of transport we use IN:

a car; a taxi; a truck; a lorry; a balloon; a canoe.

Remember to use ON when you write or speak about ‘a journey’. For example: ‘I hate going ON long car journeys. I always feel sick.’

The structure ‘to get + preposition’ is very useful to explain entering or leaving a car, bus, train, plane etc.

When we use ON to describe our location, we can use GET ON and GET OFF.

When we use IN to describe our location, we can use GET IN/INTO and GET OUT (or GET OUT OF if we add the name of the form of transport)

EXAMPLES:

• They jumped into the car and drove away at top speed.

• When I got off the plane, my legs felt weak.

• You shouldn’t get on the bus without a ticket. If you can’t pay, the driver will ask you to get off again.

• I was too scared to get into the canoe. I thought I would fall out and drown.

• When you get out of the lorry, make sure you lock the door properly.

• I got on the tram in the city-centre but fell asleep and didn’t get off until the driver woke me up at the terminal.

• Instead of getting into your car and driving to work, get on your bike and cycle. It will make you feel better.

• The train broke down so we had to get off it and get on a different one.

EXPLANATION:

Is there any logic behind the use of ON and IN with forms of transport? Perhaps there is a little bit. We usually use ON with public transport and IN with private transport on the road. We often use ON for transport which flies or travels through water.

If you need to improve your grammar for the IELTS exam, then take a look at our online grammar course: Grammar for IELTS

How to use 'the'...

THE is a small word but a very troublesome one. It is one of the most common errors we see when looking at IELTS candidates writing and it can lower your band score if you make repeated errors with definite articles.

Look at these two sentences. They are both correct:

a) Most middle-aged people are slightly overweight.

b) Most of THE middle-aged people I know are obsessed with losing weight.

What is the difference? Why do we use THE in the second sentence?

Sentence a) refers to all middle-aged people

Sentence b) refers to a smaller group of middle-aged people (the middle-aged people who I know)

EXAMPLES

• All students struggle with exam nerves.

• All of the students studying at my university found the exam nearly impossible.

• Most doctors have spent seven or eight years studying medicine.

• Most of the doctors in Cuba are extremely well-qualified.

• Almost all drivers have had an accident at some time or other.

• Almost all of the drivers who responded to the survey claimed never to have had an accident.

• A significant proportion of New Yorkers admitted that they did not always feel safe in the city.

• A significant proportion of the New Yorkers who were surveyed admitted that they sometimes felt unsafe in the city.

• Some countries are beginning to experience extreme weather which could be the result of global warming.

• Some of the countries in Latin America have suffered recently from flooding and landslides.

• A few mistakes can be tolerated.

• A few of the mistakes made by IELTS candidates are really unnecessary.

• Hardly any people still live in the countryside.

• Hardly any of the people still living in the countryside can find a job.

• No trains have been running, due to the excessively cold weather.

• None of the trains which were scheduled to leave the station have actually departed.

EXPLANATION

If you understand why we use THE in the second sentence, you will find using THE easier. In the first sentence we are referring to a general group of ‘people’, ‘students’ etc. The person reading or listening to us does not know EXACTLY, SPECIFICALLY or DEFINITELY which ‘people’ or ‘students’ we are speaking or writing about. However, in the second sentence, the reader or listener knows that we are speaking or writing about an EXACT, SEPCIFIC or DEFINITE group of ‘people’, ‘students’ or ‘New Yorkers’. We are writing about the ‘New Yorkers’ who ‘were surveyed’ and not writing about the others! So, we often use THE because the person reading or listening understands which ‘students’, ‘people’ or ‘New Yorkers’ we mean. The reader or listener does not need to ask ‘Which one?’ or ‘Which ones?’

That is not the end of THE story (I used THE here because you know I am writing about the story called ‘How to use THE’). We will return to this tricky issue in another post.

One of the most...

Grammar for IELTS

We use SUPERLATIVE forms to compare three or more people or things. Examples include ‘the biggest’, ‘the most incredible’ and ‘the best’. We can make SUPERLATIVES more complex when we refer to the group of things or people which are ‘the biggest’, ‘the most incredible’ and ‘the best’. This can impress the IELTS examiner.

EXAMPLES

• That was one of the most amazing meals I have ever had.

• Cairo is one of the most populous cities in Africa.

• Practically/Nearly all of the richest sports-stars earn as much through advertising and endorsing products as they do in prize-money.

• Most of the world’s biggest cities are heavily congested for lengthy periods during the day.

• Many of the most popular teachers are actually quite strict with their pupils.

• Some of the world’s largest companies have re-located their headquarters to countries with lower levels of corporation tax.

• Several of the world’s richest entrepreneurs are actually only in their early twenties.

• Only a small proportion of the brightest children are offered places at top universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.

• None of the most important oil-exporting nations can afford to continue basing their economy entirely on petroleum.

If you need help with your grammar in order to get a high band score in the IELTS exam, take a look at our online course: Grammar for IELTS