We use “get into”, “get out of”, “get on”, and “get off” with transportation and vehicles.
Let’s look at each of these expressions that use a “verb + preposition”.
Here are the most common ways that we use “get into” and “get out of”. Remember that “into” means to enter and “out of” means to exit.
| get into a car | get out of a car |
| get into a taxi | get out of a taxi |
- She got on the bus.
- It was raining when he got out of the car.
- We will get out of the taxi at the end of this street.
- I saw her get in a taxi.
Here are the most common ways that we use “get on” and “get off”. Remember that “on” means to enter and “off” means to exit.
| get on the bus | get off the bus |
| get on a plane | get off a plane |
| get on a ship | get off a ship |
| get on the subway | get off the subway |
Note: Always use “the subway”.
- We will get off the subway at the next stop.
- My family was happy when they saw me get off the bus.
- What time can we get on the plane?
If both the speaker and listener know the noun, then we do not need to say it.
For example, if I am riding the bus with my friend then I can just say, “When should we get off?”. I don’t need to include “the bus” because we both know that we are on the bus.
Prepositions are one of the hardest things for people who are learning English to master. But you should not worry about prepositions too much. Most times, if you make a mistake with a presentation, the other person can still understand what you are saying. However, if you want to be an excellent or fluent English speaker, then you must know when you use the correct English preposition. It will take time to master English prepositions, but if you study these lessons and come back to review them often, then you will gain a better understanding of how and when to use each English preposition.
It is also important to remember that sometimes multiple prepositions can be used in the same place and the sentence or question has the same meaning. But sometimes, changing just the preposition can completely change the meaning of the sentence or question.
