Chapter 5, lesson 39

On Foot or by Bus

When to use gå for going on foot and åka for going by bus, train or car, plus cykla for the bike and gå av for getting off at a stop.

What you will learn

You can say whether you walk or go by bus, train, car or bike, and you can say where you get off.

Four verbs for getting around

Dictionary formPresent formEnglish
gågårto walk, to go on foot
åkaåkerto go, to ride, by bus, train or car
cyklacyklarto cycle
gå avgår avto get off a bus or a train

Gå and åka can both be go in English. Swedish chooses by the way you travel. Use gå when you go on foot. Use åka when a bus, a train or a car takes you. Use cykla when you go by bike.

How you travel

SwedishEnglish
Jag går till jobbet.I walk to work.
Hon åker buss.She goes by bus.
Vi åker tåg till Stockholm.We go to Stockholm by train.
Han åker bil.He goes by car.
Kenji cyklar varje dag.Kenji cycles every day.
Jonas tar bussen till centrum.Jonas takes the bus to the town center.
Vi går av vid torget.We get off at the square.

Åka buss, åka tåg and åka bil have no en or ett. They say how you travel, not which bus or train. Ta bussen and ta tåget use the definite form, the bus and the train. Both ways are common.

Till means to. It shows where someone is going, as in till jobbet. Part 4 says more about till and the other small words for going places.

Good to know

When you go to another town, you use åka even if you do not say how. Vi åker till Stockholm means that you go there by train, bus or car, not on foot.

You may also hear åka cykel. It is correct, but cykla is the usual way to say it.

You may hear Bussen går, which means that the bus leaves or runs. In this chapter, gå is about people who walk.

Gå av belongs together. In a statement that starts with the subject, av comes after går and before the place, as in Vi går av vid torget.

Common mistakes

Not like thisLike thisWhy
Vi går tåg.Vi åker tåg.Gå is for going on foot. A train takes you, so åka.
Hon åker en buss.Hon åker buss.When you say how someone travels, leave out en.
Jag åker till jobbet, when you walk thereJag går till jobbet.On foot, use gå.
Han går vid torget av.Han går av vid torget.Av comes before the place, not at the end.

Check yourself

A few questions from the Learning Path on this lesson. Answer, then check, or show the answer with its explanation.

  1. Vilken mening betyder tydligt att personen går till fots?
  2. Fyll i uttrycket för att lämna tåget.

    Vi går vid stationen.

  3. Vilken mening säger uttryckligen att du går till biblioteket?
  4. Välj går eller åker. Personen sitter i en bil och färdas inte till fots.

    Choose from går, åker

    Jag bil till stationen.

  5. Välj den engelska betydelsen av den svenska meningen eller frasen.

    Han åker bil.

  6. Välj presensformen bland de givna orden. Personerna färdas med tåg.

    Choose from åka, åker, gå

    Vi tåg till Uppsala.

How this lesson connects

Learning Path

Practice and review

Practice this lesson, check your answers and review mistakes in a separate round. Track your results as you work through the course.

Lessons and vocabulary are free to read. Checking your practice access.

Open the Learning Path