Travel & Transport
Travel & Transport — 20 high-frequency words, with pronunciation, collocations, tricky words and four interactive exercises.
📌 Lesson contents
🎯 Lesson goal
Twenty words to plan a trip and cope at the airport ✈️. The key point is the difference between travel (the general idea, uncountable), trip (a short journey), journey (the movement from A to B) and voyage (by sea): mixing them up is one of the most common mistakes in exams. 🚀
🗂️ Word Bank
Tap 🔊 to hear the British pronunciation. The IPA transcription is under each word.
📖 Words in context
A trip that didn’t go to plan · tap a highlighted word to hear it.
We decided to book everything ourselves: flights, accommodation and even the insurance. Our destination was Edinburgh, and the whole journey should have taken five hours.
We set off at four in the morning to avoid rush hour. At the airport we tried to check in online, but the app crashed, so we queued for an hour with only our hand luggage. Then the screen said our flight was delayed — and later, cancelled.
We missed our connection, arrived at midnight and slept badly because of the jet lag. Still, the next morning we forgot everything: the city is easy to get around on foot, the fare for the bus was tiny, and we spent two days sightseeing around every landmark in the old town.
🔗 Collocations & chunks
Words are learnt in pairs, not alone: memorise the whole chunk.
| Chunk / collocation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| go on a trip | make a short journey for pleasure | We're going on a trip to Wales. |
| catch a connecting flight | change to a second plane or train | We had to catch a connecting flight. |
| book in advance | reserve early, before you travel | Book in advance to save money. |
| a return ticket | a ticket for going and coming back | A return ticket is cheaper. |
| off the beaten track | away from the usual tourist places | This village is off the beaten track. |
| break the journey | stop on the way and continue later | We broke the journey in Turin. |
⚠️ Tricky words
| English word | Real meaning ✅ | Watch out ❌ |
|---|---|---|
| travel | to go from place to place; the activity of travelling | Uncountable: say a trip or a journey, not “a travel” |
| accommodation | a place to stay (not plural in British English) | British English: no -s (“accommodations” is American) |
| comodities | — (not a word you want here) | Real word: commodities = raw materials. For comfort, say facilities or amenities. |
| coincidence | a surprising chance event | Not a train connection: that is a connection |
🎚️ Register: when to use them
| Expression | Register | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| We're off to Spain! | very informal | with friends, on social media |
| We're going on holiday. | neutral | always correct (US: on vacation) |
| I'd like to book a room, please. | cortese | hotels, agencies, phone calls |
| Passengers are kindly requested to… | formal | airport announcements and official texts |
🚫 Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake ❌ | Correct ✅ |
|---|---|
| I did a beautiful travel. | I went on a beautiful trip. |
| The flight has a delay of two hours. | The flight is delayed by two hours. |
| I lost the connection in Munich. | I missed the connection in Munich. |
| We stayed in an accommodation. | We stayed in a hotel. / We found accommodation. |
🎮 Vocabulary gym
Four ways to train the same 20 words. Your progress is saved on this device.
Tap the card to flip it.
Tap an English word, then its meaning. Eight pairs per round.
Complete the ten sentences with the right word. The 💡 hint helps you.
- The takes about four hours.💡 travelling from A to B
- We're planning a weekend to Bath.💡 a short visit, there and back
- I'll the flights tonight.💡 reserve in advance
- Have your ready.💡 you show it to get on the plane
- Only one piece of is allowed.💡 the small bag you take on the plane
- You can online 48 hours before.💡 register at the airport
- Our flight was by two hours.💡 later than planned
- The train was without warning.💡 it does not run at all
- We missed our in Munich.💡 a second train or flight you change to
- I to Milan every day.💡 travel to work regularly