[00:00:00] On today's episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast, I'll be teaching you 18 slang words, phrasal verbs, and idioms about commuting and traveling by bus, train, and car. You'll be learning awesome new vocabulary, like catch the bus, bumper-to-bumper traffic, flagged down, carpool, road rage, and more. Let's get to it.
Hey there, welcome to the Real Life English with Gabby podcast. I'm your host, Gabby, your fun and friendly English teacher from the one and only New York City. My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang that will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations.
Are you ready to improve your English skills? Let's jump right in.
Hello? Hello. Welcome to episode [00:01:00] number 28. For those of you who are new, welcome for the first time. And for those of you who are my regular listeners, welcome back. Today's episode is really cool because it's something that everyone does. Everyone has to commute. They have to commute or travel to work, to school, to a friend's house, and we're either going to do it by bus, by train, by car. Maybe some people walk or ride a bike or take a ferry, but taking some kind of metro, subway, bus, or car is extremely common all around the world. And today you're going to learn how to talk about this in English.
Have you ever had a really bad commuting day? Like, no matter what you did, there were just delays, delays, and [00:02:00] more delays. This unfortunately happens quite often in New York City. Between construction, pollution, and human error like car accidents, there are so many traffic jams and delays. A traffic jam is basically serious traffic when nothing is moving.
There's always something we say in New York City, which is why we are often early getting places, because we like to leave early. For example, my class currently, the class that I'm teaching at a university here in New York City, starts at nine o'clock one day and the other day it starts at 10 o'clock. So I have to get to work at least an hour early to feel secure and to make sure that there are no delays.
And for my 10 o'clock class, I often get [00:03:00] there an hour and a half to two hours early. As a teacher, it's important for us to get to places early so that we can prepare for our classes, make copies, prepare the slides, things like that. So we always leave early here. For some jobs, we have to prepare beforehand, and for a lot of jobs, you don't. You just go get to work and start working. So some people don't need to get to a place as early as teachers, for example.
But ultimately, this is why a lot of New Yorkers are early because we have to leave early in case there are train delays. There are a lot of accidents here, there are a lot of construction delays, and I'm sure it's the same for those of you who live in really big cities, or maybe even if you don't live in a big city, maybe it's the same. Commuting is often very, very stressful. Now, throughout the United States, we actually do not [00:04:00] really have good public transportation. New York City has the best public transportation in the entire USA. We actually have one of the oldest metro subway stations in the world.
There are many cities throughout the world that have larger subway systems than us and older subway systems, but ours is just one of the older ones, one of the largest ones. But if you've ever been to New York City, you'll see how old our system is. However, despite that, we have a very large public transportation system.
Our subways are huge and cheap; it's less than $3 to go anywhere, doesn't matter how far. We have a bus system, express bus system, and of course, you know from movies, we have yellow taxis. We have Ubers, we have ferries, we have it all here in New York City, but that's not the same [00:05:00] around the country. In fact, the United States is one of the countries that uses the most number of cars in the world. And this is because most U.S. states do not have good public transportation systems.
For example, I have family that lives in Florida, and every single one of my cousins had a car when they were 16. You can drive down there at 16, because there was no reliable bus system. They have no subway, and the only real way to get to school is by car. You could ride your bike or things like that, but you know, it's very hot. So most families throughout the United States have two cars. Some families have three cars. It's pretty crazy.
If you live in a city that has a good public transportation system and you don't need a car, consider yourself very, very lucky.
So [00:06:00] commuting here in the United States is mostly done by car and maybe by bus, depending on where you live. But in the big cities, it's all about the subway system and buses.
This episode was definitely inspired by my many students here in New York City who rely on trains and buses to get to school. A lot of times, they tried to explain to me what happened on their commute and they don't know how to express it in English. Which is why I chose this topic for this episode.
Let me tell you the 18 words and expressions that you're going to learn in today's episode:
Get on, get off, get in, get out, and the differences between those four. Rush hour, track work, hop on, hop off, catch or make the train or bus, to be stuck in [00:07:00] traffic, bumper-to-bumper traffic, a hit and run, flag down, road rage, pick up, drop off, carpool, hold up, missed the train, I miss the bus.
Okay.
Before we get to the story, I just wanted to remind you that there is a study guide waiting for you. I create these study guides so that you can practice what I teach you in every single episode. And thank you for all of the emails and messages on social media that you guys send me talking about how much the study guides help you.
It's why I still create the study guides because I know how beneficial they can be. It takes time to really remember vocabulary and having the study guide. You're going to see these words more, more, more than just listening and it's easier to remember them so that you can speak English naturally and with [00:08:00] confidence.
To get the study guide, go to the show notes and click the link. But if you're already on my email list, you'll already have it in your inbox.
And remember that I have one file that has all the study guides, so you just click that file, and you can get any study guide from any episode that you want. Also, if you love the show, please leave me a five-star review, especially on Apple Podcasts. You know, it's kind of funny. On Spotify, I have over 200 five-star reviews, but on Apple Podcast, I think I have like seven or eight.
It's really funny. So I guess most of you guys are listening on Spotify. So, hi Spotify crew, but for my Apple Podcast crew, I would love some reviews. Thank you in advance.
Okay, so let's get to the story that has all of these new words.
Listen for all of the new vocabulary and see if [00:09:00] you can figure out the meanings of these words through the context that it's being used in the story.
It was a typical Monday morning, and Ariana was determined to get to work on time.
She normally took the subway, which was the fastest way to her office. As she arrived at the subway station, she quickly got on the train, hoping to make it before the rush hour crowd.
However, halfway through her journey, the train came to an unexpected stop. The conductor announced that there was track work ahead, causing significant delays. She couldn't afford to wait, so she got off at the next station and decided to hop on a bus instead. She hurried to the nearest bus stop and managed to catch the bus just in time. The bus slowly [00:10:00] made its way through the city streets, but soon enough they were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. As time passed, Ariana grew increasingly anxious. There was a minor accident involving a hit-and-run nearby, causing even more delays. Frustrated, she decided to get off the bus and try her luck with a taxi. She walked a few blocks and finally flagged down a cab. As she got in, she hoped that this would finally get her to work on time. But soon the taxi was stuck in traffic as well, thanks to the rush hour traffic.
The driver tried to navigate through the busy streets, but their progress was slow. Ariana noticed other drivers exhibiting road rage, [00:11:00] honking and yelling at each other. She started to feel stressed out and knew that she needed a different plan. Suddenly, Ariana remembered her coworker, Jake, who lived nearby and often drove to work. She called him and explained her situation. Luckily, he was just about to leave and agreed to pick her up. The taxi dropped her off at the corner, and she got out quickly so that Jake could easily find her.
Jake arrived soon after, and Ariana got in his car, extremely grateful for the help. They joined the carpool lane, which moved faster than the regular lanes. However, even the carpool experienced some delays, and they found themselves back in traffic. Finally, traffic cleared up, and they were able to [00:12:00] move more quickly. They finally pulled up to their office and were thankfully only 10 minutes late.
As they entered the building, Ariana couldn't help but reflect on the morning's chaotic journey. Despite all of the holdups, misconnections, and traffic, she was relieved to finally have made it.
Ohhhhkay. Let's talk about these words and expressions that you just heard. I'd like to start off with get on, get off, get in, and get out or get out of. These are extremely important in English. You're going to use them all the time, but they are also extremely confusing. And no, they are not the same. First, let's talk about get [00:13:00] on and get off. Get on and get off are used for boarding or entering a larger vehicle.
Such as buses, trains, airplanes, ships, and one smaller thing, which is a bicycle. So if you go on a cruise, if you travel by plane, any larger vehicle that you can get into and stand up, any larger vehicle where you can stand up inside can be used for get on. The exception, however, is bicycles. I get on the bus every morning at 8:00 AM. This is talking about the action that you're doing regularly at 8:00 AM.
Next, we have get [00:14:00] off. Get off is the opposite of get on. It's for leaving larger vehicles like buses, trains, airplanes, ships, and also bicycles.
Now get in and get out are slightly different. They both mean to enter or leave; however, these are used for smaller vehicles, such as cars, taxis, and trucks.
They got in the taxi quickly since they were running late. That's an example of get in, and then now get out is interesting because we can either say get out or get out of. Three-word phrasal verb. It depends on the context. He got out of the car and walked to his office, get out of here. Is a three-word phrasal verb, and you need it. You need that [00:15:00] second particle.
You can't really stand up inside of these vehicles. That's showing that they're smaller. He got out of the car and walked to his office. He exited the car.
Next up, we have rush hour. Rush hour is the busiest time of day for traffic. It's when everyone is commuting back and forth from work or school or some kind of commitment. Typically, rush hour in the United States is from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM, and then 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. An example would be, I tried to avoid traveling during rush hour so that I can avoid the crowds.
Next up, we have track work. Track work is maintenance or construction work that happens on train tracks. Due to track work [00:16:00] happening this weekend, everything is going to be delayed.
Next up, we have hop on and hop off. Hop on is to quickly get on or board a larger type of vehicle.
The difference between get on and get off and hop on and hop off is the speed. For example, hop on and hop off mean that something was done quickly. Like, “Oh, I got to hop on. I got to get on really, really quickly.” Hop off means to get off or exit the vehicle very quickly.
Next up, we have to catch the bus or catch the train. This means that you are just in time to board or get on the bus or train. So, you think you might miss it, but you actually don't miss it.
Next up, we have the expression to be [00:17:00] stuck in traffic. That's how we talk about traffic. If you're late meeting someone, you can say, “Hey, there is traffic. I'm sorry. I'm late.” You could say that. But then you can say, “Oh, I'm so sorry. I caught the bus late. Then I got stuck in traffic. Then I decided to take a taxi, and I had bumper-to-bumper traffic for miles.” She persevered through a lot.
Next up is bumper-to-bumper traffic. Okay, so firstly, the bumpers of your car are the horizontal pieces on the front and the back of your car, and they're meant to prevent damage in case someone backs up and hits you or something similar.
Now bumper-to-bumper traffic is during heavy traffic with cars very close together [00:18:00] and barely moving. So, they name it bumper-to-bumper because their bumpers are almost touching.
Next up, we have hit and run. Hit and run is an accident where one driver leaves the scene without stopping. They run away in order to avoid getting in trouble later with police.
Next up, we have the phrasal verb flag down. This is a really, really unique one, and I'm sure that a lot of you have never heard it before. Flag down means to signal a vehicle or person to stop. “I had to flag down a taxi because the buses had stopped running.” “Ooh, that woman left her cell phone behind. Can you go flag her down?” So, it's almost like waving a flag, which is where this originated. But now, we don't use flags anymore. Sometimes we wave, sometimes we shout, flag down.
Next up, we [00:19:00] have the slang expression road rage. Rage is extreme anger. So, road rage is extreme anger while driving that involves aggressive behavior, driving erratically, meaning in an uncontrolled way. You're driving really fast, you are moving between lanes, you use bad language, what we call profanity, like curse words, and sometimes road rage even involves violence, with some cars purposely bumping other cars or people getting out of cars to try and fight. This is an extremely dangerous thing, and here in the U.S., unfortunately, it's a big problem.
Next, we have the phrasal verb pick [00:20:00] up.
Pick up means to collect someone or take them into a vehicle and transport them to another place. So, if I arrive at the airport at six and I really don't want to take the train because my bags are heavy, I can call my dad, call my cousin, or call my friend to say, “Hey, can you pick me up from the airport, please? Can you take me in your car and transport me, bring me to a different place?”
Next up, we have drop off. Drop off is used with pick up oftentimes because it's when you leave someone at their destination. So, you're at my house, and you're getting ready to leave. And I say, “Okay, it's fine. I'll drive you. I'll drop you off wherever you need to go. I'm going to leave you at that destination.”
Next up, we have another phrasal verb, which is to hold up.
Now, we [00:21:00] often use this in its passive form to be held up, which is to delay or to be delayed. “The train was held up because of an emergency.” “I'm so sorry. I got held up. That's why I'm late.”
Next up, we have carpool. Now, this is an interesting one. Most of you probably heard this and were confused because the word pool (P-O-O-L) has two different meanings. Firstly, the word pool is a big thing full of water that you can swim in. Right? Like, “Oh, my friend has a pool in her backyard. Let's go swim.” Also, pool is what we call billiards. But here, actually, pool can also mean to combine. So, imagine if it's your teacher's birthday, and your class wants [00:22:00] to buy her a gift. You are all going to pool your money. You're going to combine your money, put your money together to hopefully get a lot of money so that you can buy your teacher something nice.
By the way, my birthday's in April. Just kidding. Okay, so pool often means to combine, to put together. So, carpool is actually when you share a car trip with other people in order to save costs or reduce traffic. So, a carpool is when, let's say you have four friends who live close to each other, and you say, “Okay, you know what? I'm going to drive us to university today. I'm going to drive us to work today. Let's go together.” In New York, they have incentives, meaning they have good benefits if you carpool because they have something called a carpool lane. And if you are driving with three [00:23:00] or more people, you can drive in that express lane. It might be the same in your city, but New York City has so much traffic that they need to offer these bonuses so that fewer people will drive and fewer cars will be on the road.
So, carpooling just means combining into one car so that you can pay less money for gas and you can save, you know, you reduce traffic, save the planet, and decrease pollution.
Next, we have to catch the train or make the train. We can also use this for buses as well. I know that sometimes English can be weird. It makes no sense why we say make the train because in your brains, I'm sure, you are connecting make to create, which is one of the definitions of make. Make also means to [00:24:00] force. “My mother made me clean my room.” So, in this context, it might seem strange that we're using catch and made.
This is kind of like when we say, “I'm going to jump in the shower,” “I'm going to hop on the bus.” These things are not literal. English has a lot of expressions like this. So, this is just a causative collocation or just a collocation. So, if we get the train on time and we don't miss it, we often say, “Oh, I caught the train.”
“Thankfully, I made the bus.” And so this again means to be right in time, to be on time to board, to get on, to ride the train, the bus, the ferry, the boat, anything like that. Now, the opposite of this is to miss. And I want to talk about this for one quick second because a lot of students, if they [00:25:00] go to get a train or a bus and the bus leaves without them, they'll say, “Oh no, I lost my train.” And we don't say lose a train in English.
We say miss the train, miss the bus. So, again, do not say, “I lost my train,” because in some languages that is the direct translation, but we do not say that.
And lastly, it says, “Despite all the holdups.” Now, hold up is a phrasal verb, but it can also be used as a noun, which is what we're seeing here. So, let me explain.
Hold up is a phrasal verb, okay, to hold someone up. It means to delay. We can also use it in the passive form to be held up. “The train was held up [00:26:00] due to train traffic.” “Despite all the holdups.” So, here we're actually using it as a noun. “Despite all the delays.” So, you can use this as a phrasal verb or as a noun. A holdup. This is very common with phrasal verbs, that we can also use some of them as nouns.
All right. Well, guess what?
You just learned 18 awesome new vocabulary words and expressions that you can use for commuting. I encourage you to try to use these today and the rest of the week. Look at the study guide, write some on index cards, put them around your room, put them in your phone, remind yourself to use these.
Don't forget to come back for the next episode because I've got something really exciting coming [00:27:00] up.
Well, that's a wrap for today's episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast.
