City and transport

Places in a town, buses, trains and tickets, asking for and giving directions, and the small prepositions that go with transport.

When you need it

As soon as you visit an English-speaking city, or show a visitor around your own, you need to name places, buy a ticket and understand directions. The same vocabulary appears in school tasks about your town and in listening exams set at a station or a bus stop. The words themselves are short and mostly regular; the real difficulty is in the prepositions: by bus, on the bus, in a taxi, on foot.

Core words

Word	Note	Example
city, town, village	from biggest to smallest	I grew up in a small town.
centre	American spelling center; the city centre	The museum is in the centre.
street, road	a street has buildings along it; a road can go between towns	Our street is very quiet.
square, bridge	open space in a town; a way over a river	Meet me in the main square.
museum, hospital, bank	museum is /mjuˈziːəm/, stress on the second syllable	The bank is next to the museum.
post office	where you send letters and parcels	Is there a post office near here?
pharmacy, chemist	British speakers also say the chemist's	I need to go to the chemist's.

Word	Note	Example
bus, bus stop	the stop is where the bus waits in the street	The bus stop is opposite the bank.
train, station	a station is a building with platforms	The train leaves from platform 4.
platform	where you get on the train	Which platform is it?
tram	runs on rails in the street; American streetcar	Take the number 3 tram.
underground	British; London's is called the Tube; American subway; metro in many cities	Let's go by underground.
taxi, bike	bike is short for bicycle	I'll get a taxi home.

Word	Note	Example
ticket	British single and return; American one-way and round-trip	A return ticket, please.
timetable	American schedule	Check the bus timetable.
traffic	uncountable: a lot of traffic	The traffic is bad today.
traffic jam, rush hour	cars that cannot move; the busy time	We sat in a traffic jam for an hour.
catch, miss	get a bus or train in time; be too late for it	I missed the last train.
get on, get off	enter and leave a bus, train or plane	Get off at the next stop.
drive, ride	drive a car; ride a bike or a horse	Tom drives to work.

Word	Note	Example
turn	turn left, turn right	Turn left at the bank.
straight	go straight on (British), go straight ahead (both)	Go straight on for two minutes.
opposite	on the other side of the street from	The café is opposite the station.
corner	on the corner, round the corner	There's a shop on the corner.
traffic light, crossroads	usually plural traffic lights; a place where two roads cross	Turn right at the traffic lights.

Useful phrases

Excuse me, how do I get to the station? — Go straight on and turn left.
Is it far? — No, it's about five minutes' walk.
Is there a bank near here? — Yes, there's one on the corner.
Which bus goes to the airport? — The number 7.
A single to the city centre, please. — Two pounds fifty.
I usually take the bus. — Take works with any public transport.
Does this train stop at the museum? — Yes, it's the third stop.
You can't miss it. — It is very easy to find.
Sorry, I'm not from here. — I can't help you with directions.
It's the second street on the left. — Count the streets from where you are standing.

When you are asking a stranger, start with Excuse me; it is the normal way to get someone's attention in the street, and Sorry? is used when you did not hear the answer. Directions are given in the imperative (go, turn, take the second street on the left); this is polite in English when someone has asked you. See imperatives.

Common mistakes

✗ I go to work by foot. I go by the bus.
✓ I go to work on foot. I go by bus.
With by + transport there is no article (by bus, by train, by car), but walking is always on foot, where Ukrainian says пішки and Russian пешком.
✗ I was in the bus when she called.
✓ I was on the bus when she called.
Ukrainian and Russian use в for every vehicle, but English uses on for buses, trains, trams and planes, where you can stand and walk, and in for cars and taxis.
✗ Can you drive a bike?
✓ Can you ride a bike?
Ukrainian їздити and Russian ездить cover all vehicles, but English drive is for cars, buses and lorries, and ride for bikes, motorbikes and horses.
✗ Where is the bus station? (meaning: the place in the street where the bus waits)
✓ Where is the bus stop?
A stop is зупинка / остановка; a station is a building, like вокзал, with platforms and a ticket office.
✗ Say me, please, where is the station?
✓ Excuse me, could you tell me where the station is?
Russian Скажите, пожалуйста cannot be translated with say, which never takes a person directly; use tell me, and in an indirect question the verb goes at the end.

Try it

I don't have a car, so I go to work ___ bus.
Anna is ___ the train now. (in / on)
Tom can't ___ a bike. (drive / ride)
Hurry up, or we will ___ the train.
Go straight on and ___ left at the traffic lights.
Excuse me, how do I ___ to the museum?

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