How to Talk About Transport and Driving in English Spoken English Lesson
Hi, I’m Lori.
Welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you can learn how to talk
about transport and driving in English.
What’s the best way to get around your hometown?
Do you drive often?
What public
transport do you use regularly?
In this lesson, you’ll see how to answer
these questions—and many others—in clear,
correct English.
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But now, let’s see how you can talk about
getting around your city.
How do you usually get around?
I mostly use public transport, so I’ll take
the metro, or sometimes buses.
I have a car but I don’t use it much in
the city.
What about you?
I don’t have a car, so I either cycle or
walk most places.
Sometimes I take the metro or a taxi if I’m
going further, or if I’m out in the evening.
You cycle?
Here?
That’s brave!
There’s so much traffic.
It’s not that bad.
Once you know the best routes, you can get
anywhere in the city centre quite fast.
Often, it’s faster than driving, because
you can take small streets and you don’t
get stuck in traffic jams.
I guess…
I still wouldn’t do it, though.
The metro works well for me.
I can always get where I need, and I know
how long it’s going to take.
Yeah, the metro is good, but I hate taking
it during rush hour.
It’s so crowded.
Do you cycle to work every day, then?
Most days.
My office is actually very close, so I can
walk in about 20 minutes.
I walk in once or twice a week, and cycle
on the other days.
Wow!
That’s lucky.
It takes me at least 40 minutes to get to
work.
By metro?
Yeah.
I have to change lines, which adds a lot of
time.
Do you remember the question you heard at
the beginning of the dialogue?
Do you know what this means?
This question is asking about how you usually
travel around the place where you live.
How could you answer?
In the dialogue, you heard these phrases:
‘I mostly use public transport.’
‘I either cycle or walk most places.’
‘Sometimes I take the metro or a taxi.’
You could change these sentences to talk about
your own situation.
For example: ‘I mostly use the subway.’
‘I drive most places.’
‘Sometimes I use trams.’
With public transport, you can use the verbs
‘use’ or ‘take’, as in ‘use the
metro,’ ‘use buses’, or ‘take the
metro,’ ‘take buses.’
The meaning is the same.
If you’re talking about getting around by
car, bicycle, or on foot, then you can use
the specific verbs: ‘drive’, ‘cycle’
and ‘walk’.
For example: ‘I don’t drive often.’
‘I used to cycle, but I don’t have a bike
any more.’
‘I walk if I’m going somewhere in my neighbourhood.’
Next, let’s see how you can talk about public
transport where you live.
So, what’s the best way to get to your place?
Are you driving, or taking the metro?
I’ll come by metro, so I don’t have to
worry about parking.
You live on the green line, right?
Yeah.
So, you can take the green line to Victoria
in the centre.
From there, you can either change to the blue
line for two stops, or you can get a bus.
Which is better?
I’d take the bus.
It leaves you closer to my house.
Take bus number 27 and get off at October
Square.
It’s easy to find; it’s the first stop
after you cross the river.
Where does it leave from?
The bus stop is right outside the metro station.
You can’t miss it!
How often do the buses go?
They’re very regular.
I don’t know exactly, but I never wait more
than 10 minutes, and normally much less.
OK, I’ll do that then.
What time do the buses run until?
I’m just thinking about getting back.
The buses run until midnight, so you should
be fine.
The green line stops at one, right?
It’s a Friday, so it’ll run until two
o’clock.
I don’t think it’ll be a problem.
Great, so, see you tomorrow!
Here’s a question for you: what public transport
do you have in your hometown?
What do you use to get around?
Most cities have buses.
Big cities might have a metro or subway.
There are different words for this, because
many cities have their own name.
In New York and Tokyo, it’s the subway;
in Moscow and Paris, it’s the metro; in
London, it’s the Tube or the Underground;
in Berlin, it’s the U-Bahn, and so on.
All these words have the same meaning.
If you aren’t sure which to use, say ‘metro’
or ‘subway’.
Some cities have other kinds of public transport,
like trams, light rail, or shared taxis.
In many cities, you refer to metro lines by
their colour.
So, you might say: ‘I live on the green
line.’
‘Change to the blue line at Victoria.’
Buses have numbers, so you can say things
like: ‘Take bus number 27 and get off at
October Square.’
‘You can catch the number two bus from just
outside the metro station.’
If it’s clear what you’re talking about,
you might just use the number, and not say
the word ‘bus’ at all.
For example: ‘Take the number three for
five stops.’
In the dialogue, you heard these questions
about public transport: ‘Where does it leave
from?’
‘How often do the buses go?’
‘What time do the buses run until?’
Of course, you can use these questions for
other forms of transport, as in: ‘How often
do the trains go?’ or: ‘What time does
the subway run until?’
Do you remember how to answer these questions?
What could you say?
You might say: ‘It leaves from opposite
the shopping centre.’
‘There are trains every five minutes or
so.’
‘The metro stops at midnight.’
Now, it’s your turn!
Here’s a task for you.
Imagine that someone is coming to visit you.
Pick a place in your hometown, for example
the airport, train station or bus station.
Could you give clear directions in English
so that your friend can get to your home using
public transport?
Think about it.
Pause the video, and try saying your directions
out loud.
If you want to get really good, practise several
times, until you can say everything fluently,
without hesitation.
What’s next?
Let’s see how you can talk about driving
and car journeys in English.
Good to see you!
How was the drive?
It wasn’t too bad.
We got stuck in traffic near Birmingham, so
it was slow for a while, but everything else
was smooth.
It’s always bad around there.
How long did it take?
It was a bit over four hours.
That’s about average.
Your car looks very futuristic.
Is it electric or something?
No, it’s a hybrid.
Huh…
What’s it like to drive?
It’s nice!
It uses the battery at low speeds, so it’s
really quiet to drive in the city.
It’s also extremely efficient, which is
good for longer trips.
I’m thinking of getting a new car soon.
I’m still driving my old Subaru, but it
was second-hand when I bought it, and it’s
got over 200,000 kilometres on the clock,
so it’s starting to show its age.
It’s broken down three times this year already.
What are you thinking of getting?
I’m not sure.
Part of me wants to get a bigger car, like
an SUV or something, but then I know it’ll
be a nightmare to find parking, or driving
around the small streets in the centre.
Yeah, plus those things go through fuel.
They’re expensive to run.
Anyway, I’ll give it some thought.
Do you drive?
What kind of car do you have?
In the dialogue, you heard these sentences.
But, there’s a word missing in each sentence.
Can you remember the missing words?
Here are the answers.
Do you know what these phrases mean?
If you get stuck in traffic, you get in a
traffic jam.
‘Second-hand’ means the same as ‘used’.
If you’re buying a car, you can buy a new
car, or you can buy a second-hand car, which
has already been used.
Second-hand cars are generally much cheaper
than new cars.
If a car is efficient, it doesn’t use so
much petrol, so it’s cheaper to run.
Smaller cars and hybrids are generally more
efficient, while bigger cars, like SUVs, use
more petrol, so they’re less efficient.
If your car breaks down, it stops working.
Maybe there’s a problem with the engine,
and you can’t drive it.
Also, in the dialogue, you heard these questions.
We’re going to show you four answers.
You have a job; match the question to the
answer.
There’s one extra answer, which you don’t
need.
Take a look!
Pause the video if you want more time to think
about your answers!
Ready?
Here are the answers.
Let’s look at one or two useful words here.
‘Smooth’ means ‘without problems’.
If you say ‘the journey was smooth’, you
mean that everything happened as you expected,
and you didn’t have any problems.
If a car goes through fuel, it uses a lot
of gas, so it’s inefficient and probably
expensive to run.
A ‘hybrid’ is a car which uses electrical
power at low speeds, and a gasoline engine—like
a regular car—at higher speeds.
Hybrids are quieter and can be more environmentally-friendly.
What about you?
If you drive, can you make two to three sentences
talking about your car, what kind of car it
is, and what you like or don’t like about
it.
If you don’t drive, make two to three sentences
about what car you’d like to have.
Use the language from the dialogue and this
section.
Remember: you can always go back and review
a section if you need to!
Pause the video, and make your answer now.
How was that?
Could you make a fluent answer?
If so, great!
Let’s look at one more point.
Are you doing anything?
We need to book flights for our trip.
Yeah… about that…
I had a look the other day.
They’re really expensive.
Actually, I was looking, too.
Direct flights are expensive, but I found
a couple of cheaper options.
The first choice is that we fly through Madrid.
We can also go through Oslo, which is much
cheaper, but there’s a seven-hour layover.
Seven hours?
What time would we get there?
About four in the morning the following day.
Eurgh…
What about the Madrid one?
Which airline is it?
We’d fly Greenjet into Madrid, and then
Prince Air for the second leg.
Greenjet?
No way!
I flew with them last year.
They charge you for everything, and the seats
are tiny.
Besides, we need to take at least one checked
bag, right?
I guess.
They charge 55 Euro if your bag is over 10kg.
Plus, they don’t serve food or drinks, or
even water.
You have to buy it.
Really?
That’s ridiculous!
Shall we take the Oslo route, then?
I suppose.
Why don’t we have one last look, to see
if we can find anything better?
Sure.
When was the last time you flew somewhere?
Where did you go?
In the dialogue, you heard these words and
phrases to talk about air travel.
Could you explain what they mean?
A direct flight means you take one flight
to your destination.
You don’t stop or change planes in another
city.
If you don’t fly direct, and you change
planes, you might have to wait in the airport.
This waiting time is called a layover.
A ‘checked bag’ is a bag or suitcase that
you check in, so that it flies in the hold
of the plane.
The opposite is hand baggage, meaning bags
which you carry with you.
In the dialogue, we talked about some of the
disadvantages of flying with a specific airline.
Do you remember what you heard?
You heard: ‘They charge you for everything.’
‘The seats are tiny.’
‘They don’t serve food or drinks.’
What do you think that first sentence means?
Many budget airlines offer cheap tickets,
but you have to pay for extras.
For example, you might have to pay to check
in a bag, or you might have to buy food and
drink on the plane.
‘They charge you for everything’ suggests
that this airline has a lot of extra charges,
which could make your ticket more expensive!
Of course, not all airlines are like this.
You could also talk about the advantages of
a certain airline.
For example, you could say: ‘The seats have
lots of legroom.’
‘Their staff are very helpful and polite.’
‘The food is pretty good.’
Can you guess what ‘legroom’ means?
It’s how much space you have for your legs
and feet.
If you’re tall, you need a seat with lots
of legroom.
Here’s a question: which airlines do you
think are the best or worst?
Can you think of two to three advantages or
disadvantages of the airline you chose?
Try to make two or three sentences, and say
them out loud.
Pause the video and do it now!
We have one final task for you.
How do you get around your hometown?
What are the advantages or disadvantages of
different forms of transport where you live?
Write a short answer, put it in the comments,
and we’ll give you some feedback and corrections.
Thanks for watching!
See you next time!