Day 17: Transport

métro · bus · train · billet · 25 min

Yesterday you walked. Today you ride. One verb — prendre (to take) — plus a handful of ticket phrases covers getting around any French city.

1. Transport vocabulary

⚠️ billet vs ticket: trains and planes take a billet; the metro and bus take a ticket. A book of 10 metro tickets in Paris is un carnet (uhn kar-NEH).⚠️ FAUX AMI: la correspondance is a transfer between lines, not written correspondence.

2. ★ prendre (to take) — irregular

★ prendre covers "take" but also "eat", "drink" and "have" — a very high-mileage verb.

• Je prends le métro. (I take the metro)
• Je prends un café. (I'm having a coffee — this is the Je prends… from Day 12)

⚠️ Note the singular/plural sound split: il prend is nasal (PRAHN), ils prennent is not (PREN). That is how a listener hears the difference — the -ent ending itself is silent.

Prepositions with transport

If you get inside it, en. If you get on top of it, à. Bikes and feet take à.⚠️ English uses "by" for all of them, so this split has to be learned deliberately.

3. Buying a ticket

⚠️ pour = "to" for destinations — un billet pour Lyon, not à Lyon.With aller you say je vais à Lyon, but a ticket is always pour.

4. Asking about lines and directions

★ The Paris metro labels direction by the name of the end of the line. So what you hear is always "direction + terminus station" — never "northbound" or "eastbound" the way an English-speaking city would say it. Learn to read the last station on the map.

5. Dialogue — at the ticket window

You: Bonjour ! Un aller-retour pour Lyon, s'il vous plaît.bohn-ZHOOR! uhn na-lay ruh-TOOR poor lee-OHN, seel voo PLEH.Clerk: Pour aujourd'hui ? poor oh-zhoor-DWEE?You: Oui. À quelle heure part le prochain train ?wee. a kell ur par luh pro-SHAN TRAN? When does the next train leave?Clerk: À quatorze heures trente. Ça fait soixante-douze euros.a ka-torz ur TRAHNT. sa feh swa-sahnt-dooz UH-roh. 14:30. That's 72 euros.You: C'est quel quai ? seh kell KAY?Clerk: Quai numéro huit. kay new-may-roh WEET.You: Merci beaucoup !

★ le prochain / la prochaine (pro-SHAN / pro-SHEN) = the next one. ★ ⚠️ "quatorze heures trente" = 2:30pm. Day 9's 24-hour clock is not optional at a station — every French departure board and every clerk uses it.

6. Exercises

A. Conjugate prendre.

1. Je ___ le métro. 2. Vous ___ le bus ? 3. Nous ___ un taxi. 4. Ils ___ le train.

B. en or à?

1. Je vais au bureau ___ métro. 2. Je vais à l'école ___ pied. 3. Il va à Paris ___ train. 4. Elle va ___ vélo.

C. Say it in French.

1. A single to Lyon, please. 2. What time does the train leave? 3. Where do I change?
2. I'm getting off at Châtelet.

D. ⚠️ Fix the mistake.

1. Un billet à Lyon. 2. Je vais en pied.

7. Today's 10 sentences

1. Je prends le métro. — I take the metro (zhuh PRAHN luh may-TROH)
2. Un ticket, s'il vous plaît. — One ticket, please (uhn tee-KEH seel voo PLEH)
3. Un aller-retour pour Lyon. — A return to Lyon (uhn na-lay ruh-TOOR poor lee-OHN)
4. À quelle heure part le train ? — When does the train leave? (a kell ur par luh TRAN)
5. C'est quel quai ? — Which platform? (seh kell KAY)
6. C'est direct ? — Is it direct? (seh dee-REKT)
7. Il faut changer où ? — Where do I change? (eel foh shahn-ZHAY oo)
8. Quelle ligne pour aller à…? — Which line for…? (kell LEE-nyuh poor a-LAY a)
9. Je descends à la prochaine. — I'm getting off at the next stop (zhuh day-SAHN a la pro-SHEN)
10. Je vais au bureau en métro. — I go to work by metro (zhuh veh oh bew-ROH ahn may-TROH)

8. 📲 Upload to LangNote

The prendre table (2) + the phrases in 3–4 + the dialogue (5).

langNote is a paid subscription and this course recommends it. The 30 lessons are free and complete either way.