Prepositions for Transportation

Let’s talk about prepositions of transportations. =)

Let me share with you the prepositional rules for vehicles. I learned these from the American Institute for English Proficiency, when I took the Critical Writing & Intensive Grammar Course from there. I was surprised to learn from my instructor, Sir Victor, that there are rules like these that exist!

Preposition-use changes depending on the structure, size, and momentum of the transportation means that are being talked about.

Here are the basic rules to remember:

‘ON’ for unenclosed transportation means: We use ON when we talk about transportation means that are unenclosed and you can stand or sit on.
                I am on a bicycle.
                I am riding on a horse.
                I’ll go to the island on a jetski.

‘IN’ for vehicles that are small and enclosed: We use IN when we talk about enclosed vehicles that are small and limited, and you are constrained that you cannot get up and move around. These vehicles are usually for private transportation like car and taxi.
                I am in my car.
                I went to the school in a taxi.

‘ON’ for vehicles that are big and enclosed: We use ON when we talk about enclosed vehicles that are big enough for you to get up and move around as much as you like.
                I was on the bus when the rain poured so hard.
                I travelled to Recto on the train.
                I went to Palawan on the boat.

The rules above look pretty simple -- We use IN if you are constrained and you cannot freely get up and move around, and we use ON if it is the opposite or if you are riding on something like a bicycle. These rules always hold true for IN-vehicles and for the transportation means like bicycle, but the rules for big ON-vehicles change depending on the momentum.

For example, if you are on a moving bus, you should say “I’m on the bus.”, but if the bus is in a bus stop waiting for more people to get on board, you should say “I’m in the bus.”

Let me add some more. Please remember not to say ‘I travelled by foot.’, use ‘I travelled on foot.’

I hope you learned something new. =)