français · A1 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Transport
Choose a mode of travel and its natural preposition.
Understand the choice
French transport phrases divide broadly by how the traveler occupies the vehicle. Learn the high-frequency chunks rather than forcing one universal translation of by.
Core rule: Use en with enclosed or mass transport and à with individual open transport or walking: en bus, à vélo, à pied.
Notice it in context
Je vais au travail en bus et je rentre en métro.
I go to work by bus and return by metro.
Au contracts à + le before travail; en bus and en métro name the means without articles.
Nous allons à Lyon en train.
We are going to Lyon by train.
The destination takes à; the transport takes en.
Elle va à l’école à pied.
She goes to school on foot.
À pied is a fixed phrase and uses no article.
What to remember
- Say à vélo and à moto, but en voiture, en train, and en avion.
- Monter dans and descendre de describe getting into or out of many vehicles.
Common trap: Do not say par bus for ordinary personal transport. Par appears in delivery or route phrases; travel by bus is en bus.