How to talk about transport in Italian?
First of all, let’s have a look at a list of the possible mezzi di trasporto (means of transportation) in Italian:
- car is lamacchina, l’automobile o l’auto
- bus is l’autobus (masculine noun)
- train is il treno
- bicycle is la bicicletta o la bici
- airplane is l’aereo (masculine noun)
- motorbike is la motocicletta, la moto o il motorino
- boat is la barca
- taxi is il taxi
How to say go by… in Italian?
With all of the above, when you are describing how you go somewhere, you can use the verb andare (to go) followed by the preposition in, which in this case stands for the English by.
- Andare in
Io vado a lavorare in macchina.
I go to work by car.
Mi piace andare in bici.
I like riding a bike.
Andremo in Puglia in treno, non voglio andare in aereo.
We’ll go to Puglia by train; I do not want to go by plane.
Sono andata in taxi, non mi andava di camminare.
I went by taxi; I didn’t feel like walking.
As is the case in English, go on foot uses another preposition. In this case, the preposition a.
- Andare a
Andiamo a piedi o in bici?
Shall we go on foot or by bike?
Vai a piedi, non è lontano!
Go on foot, it is not far!
You can also use this same construction with other verbs of movement, such as venire (to come), arrivare (to arrive), partire (to leave or depart):
Siamo arrivati in macchina.
We arrived by car.
Stasera verrò a piedi.
Tonight I’ll come on foot.
Sono partiti in aereo ieri.
They left by plane yesterday.
Practice with Quizlet
Here's a set of flashcards and quizzes to practice this grammar topic.Transport in Italian: examples
Sometimes, you will hear the preposition con instead of in, especially when talking about public transport or when we want to emphasize the means of transportation in the sentence.
This is also acceptable in Italian, although far less commonly used.
Sono andato con l’autobus.
I went by bus.
Sono arrivati fino alla cima con la macchina.
They arrived at the top by car.
Si può arrivare solo con l’aereo.
You can only get there by plane.
With public transport, we use the verb prendere (to take).
Ho preso l’autobus per venire qui.
I took the bus to come here.
Non mi piace prendere l’aereo.
I do not like taking planes.
Prendiamo un taxi, no?
Shall we take a taxi?
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