Salut chers amis!!!
Everyday, people walk, drive, fly, take the train, ride a bicycle, etc. Whether we take a 5-minute bike ride to the next grocery store or travel distances of several thousand miles to a country abroad, we find ourselves using a variety of means transportation.
This French vocabulary lesson has been divided into two sections:
- YOU WILL LEARN THE NAMES OF MOST COMMON FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION.
- I ALSO PROVIDE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE A LIST OF SOME VERY USEFUL FRENCH VERBS/EXPRESSIONS RELATED TO THE TOPIC OF TRANSPORTATION.
NOUVELLE LEÇON/ NEW LESSON
1. LES MOYENS DE TRANSPORT / (THE MEANS OF) TRANSPORTATION
 le départ (the departure) |
Votre départ est prévu pour 5 heures. (Your departure is scheduled for 5 o’clock) |
 l’arrivée (the arrival) |
Ton arrivée m’a fait beaucoup plaisir. (Your arrival has made/given me much pleasure) |
 la bicyclette (the bicycle) |
Mon frère a une bicyclette rouge. (My brother has a red bicycle.) |
 la moto (the motorbike) |
Quelle superbe moto! (What an awesome motorbike!) |
 la voiture (the car) |
Cette voiture est un peu vieille. (This car is a little old.) |
 le taxi (the cab) |
C’est un taxi de couleur jaune. (This is a cab that has a yellow color) |
 l’autobus (the bus) |
L’autobus est toujours en retard! (The bus is always late!) |
 le camion (the truck) |
Il y a beaucoup de camions sur cette voie. (There are a lot of trucks on this route.) |
 le camion de pompier (the firetruck) |
Ce garçon adore regarder les camions de pompier. (This boy loves watching the firetrucks) |
 le camion-citerne (the tank truck) |
Le camion-citerne fait une livraison d’essence. (The tank truck is making a delivery of gasoline.) |
 le bâteau (the boat) |
Les bâteaux flottent sur l’eau. (Boats float on water.) |
 le bâteau-croisière (the cruise ship) |
C’est un magnifique bâteau-croisière. (This is a magnificent cruise ship) |
 l’avion (the plane) |
Mr. Scott a un avion privé. (Mr. Scott has his own (private) plane.) |
 l’hélicoptère (the helicopter) |
Nous faisons du tourisme en hélicptère. (We go sightseeing in helicopter) |
 le train (the train) |
La France a un réseau de train très complexe. (France has a very complex train network.) |
 le TGV (the high-speed train) |
Voyager en TGV est toujours très excitant. (To travel using TGV is always very exciting) |
2. IMPORTANT FRENCH VERBS AND EXPRESSIONS RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
| TRANSPORTATION-RELATED VERBS AND EXPRESSIONS | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|
| conduire une voiture (to drive a car) |
Marcel va conduire une voiture à l’age de 16 ans. (Marcel is going to drive a car at the age of 16) |
| rouler à vélo (to ride a bike) |
Nous roulons à vélo jusqu’au prochain village. (We ride our bikes until the next village) |
| aller à pied (to walk/ go on foot) |
Michèle va à pied à travers le bois. (Michèle is walking through the wood.) |
| décoller (to take off [plane]) |
L’avion va décoller dans dix minutes. (The plane is going to take off in 10 minutes.) |
| atterrir (to land) |
Notre avion a atterri sans problème. (Our plane landed without any problem.) |
| prendre l’avion (to fly) |
A quelle heure prenez-vous l’avion? (What time do you fly?) |
| prendre l’autobus (to take the bus) |
Je prends l’autobus pour me rendre à Montréal. (I take the bus to get to Montreal) |
| attendre sur le quai (to wait on the platform) |
Les passagers attendent le train sur le quai. (The passengers are waiting for the train on the platform) |
| réserver un billet (to book a ticket) |
Tu dois réserver ton billet en avance. (You must book your ticket in advance) |
| acheter un billet (to purchase a ticket) |
J’ai acheté un billet à un prix incroyable! (I purchased a ticket at an unbelievable price!) |
| héler un taxi (to hail a cab) |
Elle héla un taxi du trottoir. (She hailed a cab from the sidewalk.) |
| faire un voyage (to travel) |
Nous allons faire un voyage en automne prochain. (We are going to travel next autumn.) |
| faire ses valises (to pack [one's suitcases/bags]) |
Je fais mes valises avant d’aller à l’aéroport. (I pack my bags before going to the airport.) |
| partir en vacances (to go on vacation) |
Ils n’iront pas en vacances parce qu’ils sont punis. (They won’t go on vacation because they are punished.) |
| être à l’heure (to be/come on time) |
Ce train n’est jamais à l’heure! (This train is never on time!) |
| être en retard (to be/run late) |
Le prochain vol est en retard d’une heure. (The next flight is one-hour late.) |
| un billet simple (a one-way ticket) |
J’ai besoin d’un billet simple pour Montpellier. (I need a one-way ticket for Montpellier.) |
| un billet aller-retour (a round-trip ticket) |
Les billets aller-retour sont généralement moins chers. (Round-trip tickets are normally less expensive.) |
Hi Herman,
Bonjourd! I’m a bit confused here in the transportation-related verbs and expressions;
partir en vacances—meaning- to go on vacation.Is in it ,to go is aller and partir is to leave . and the example given you used the future tense of aller.
or I can use both.
Merci prof.
Bonjour Liandre,
I see where the confusion happened. I used ALLER in the example instead of PARTIR. Will record a new sound clip for it. Thank you again for noticing it.
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excuser moi pour de feaut de french
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hi teacher, im studyng the lesson chapter one describing other, can you tell me if im in the right way to learn french or i need take other seccion
or can you tell me if you have a plan to study
thanks
Bonjour professeur. May I ask about heler le taxi. You say ‘Elle helar un taxi for hailed a taxi. Should not on utilise avoir and the past particle of heler, like Elle a hele`.
Merci beaucoup, prof. You have the best french teaching site I have come across.
Merci encore fois.
Piyah
Bonjour Piyah,
\”héla\” is the past form (passé simple) of the verb héler. In the present tense, it will be \”Elle hèle un taxi\” (with an e at the end).
\”merci encore UNE fois\”.
Herman
Cher prof
Thank you so very much. Sorry, I still can’t type the accent yet.
Piyah
Do not worry, Piyah (although accents are very important in French
) Merci et à plus!