By car or by train

„I drove here by car.“

Saying that you drove to a place by car is a little redundant. It would be more natural to say this differently. Can you think of a more natural sentence? Read on to find out how to sound natural when talking about getting around.

„I drove here“ is a more natural way to express how you arrived somewhere. When you say that you drive somewhere, it is usually assumed that you took a car, since in English we usually use the verb drive to talk about operating a motor vehicle. It is not always necessary to say I came here by car, by train or on foot. In most situations, it’s more natural to say „I took the bus“ or „I cycled/biked into work today.“.

Specifying that you can get somewhere or got somewhere by car or by train is usually used when explaining the best way to get around.

Examples:

When I travel, I prefer to explore a city on foot.

To get here by car, take highway 65.

Getting here by train or by bus will be quite difficult because of the limited public transport timetables.

– We use various verbs paired with different forms of transport, depending on the context. Here are some common verbs and words associated with types of transport:

vehicle	bus/coach	train	plane	taxi	bicycle
verb	get / catch / take / go by get on / off	get / catch / take / go by get on / off	fly get on / off / board	get / take get in / out (of)	cycle / ride / go by get on / off
other associated words	bus fare / bus stop / bus driver / journey	train fare / platform / conductor / journey	airfare / pilot / flight	taxi driver	cyclist / a bike ride