Prepositions for transport: Prepositions with Georgie

Why do we say 'in the car', but 'on the bus'?

I have a trick to help you remember.

This is Prepositions with Georgie from BBC

Learning English. I'm Georgie and in this video,

we're looking at prepositions for transport.

Let's get on the learning train - choo choo!

My trick to remember these is to

think about how you enter the vehicle.

If you enter like this, standing on your feet,

we use 'on'.

That's why we get on a bus, on a train, on a tram, on a plane and on a boat.

The space is big, so we can stand 'on' it. The opposite is 'off'.

So we get on the bus and then we get off the bus.

If you enter like this and immediately have to sit down

because the space is so small, we use 'in'.

That's why we say we are in a car, in a taxi, in a van, in a truck

or lorry and in a helicopter.

The opposite is 'out'.

So we get in the car, we go somewhere,

and then we get out or out of the car.

What about a bike?

We aren't standing on the bike or

getting inside a small space,

so which is it?

We are on the bike because we are sitting on the bike,

like we sit on a chair.

We use 'at' when we talk about the places we find these types of transport.

I am at the airport, at the train station, at the taxi rank.

Don't forget to check out the website below

and download the worksheet to help you practise.

See you next time!