CEFR Test Prep: Fix Your Travel English (Part 2)

0:00 Quick test. Spot the mistake. Right or wrong. Have a nice travel. What's the mistake in this sentence? Decide now, out loud if you can, and don't look it up.

0:13 Hold on to your answer, because I'll give it to you later in this episode. It's one of the most common mistakes in travel English, and that's why this episode is worth your time. Alex's Adventures in English. Welcome. I'm Alex, and this is Alex's Adventures in English. If you're listening to the podcast, this is Alex's Adventures, the British English podcast.

0:45 Today, we do the second half of Unit 31, Travel from English Vocabulary in Use Upper Intermediate by Michael McCarthy and Felicity O'Dell. It's a great book if you're getting ready for a B2 exam like the FCE, the first certificate exam or if you just want to reach that level. So whether you're watching or listening, I'll read everything out loud. So let's go. In this section, we're focusing on common mistakes when dealing with travel English. First three words that learners mix up all the time.

1:29 Travel, journey and trip. Then we spot the mistakes. So let's begin. Travel. Repeat after me. Travel.

1:40 This refers to the general activity of going from one place to another. It's an uncountable noun, so never say “a travel”. Next: journey. In the UK, journey; in American English, journey. This refers to going from one place to another, usually a long way. Next word: trip. Trip. This refers to one occasion… …when you go somewhere for a reason and come back. For example, a business trip or a day trip. Now, travel or travels? Is it possible to say both?

2:26 Yes, travel refers to the activity in general. For example, long distance travel has become much cheaper. However, travels refers to someone's journeys to many places. For example, on her travels she visited Egypt. Always plural. Now, trip or journey.

2:56 Remember that a trip is one occasion when you go somewhere for a reason. For example, a business trip. Several trips. It can be plural. It can be singular as well. Well, it is a countable noun.

3:15 Next, journey. Remember that this refers to getting from A to B. And usually, it's a long way to go from A to B. So, you will usually hear, a long journey by car. Or, did you have a good journey? But we can't say “a travel”, and we don't say “have a nice travel”. Now, on time or in time? This one confuses most students. On time refers to arriving at a place punctually, at a planned time. For example…

4:00 …the train arrived on time and I picked her up. However, in time means early enough, before it is too late. For example, the doctor arrived in time to save him. So, we don't say, the train arrived in time. So, we don't say that when you mean punctually. Let's continue.

4:26 Spot the mistake now. I'm going to give you two versions of the same sentence. One has a mistake, the other doesn't. So the first one is have a nice travel or have a nice trip. The correct answer is have a nice trip. Remember that travel when referring to the general activity cannot be countable.

4:57 We don't say a travel. So, have a nice trip. Next sentence. After we left the airport, we had a long journey by car. That's A. Let's see B.

5:11 B. After we left the airport, we had a long travel by car. Option A is the correct one. After we left the airport, we had a long journey. Why? A journey goes from A to B, remember?

5:28 Did you have a good journey, for example? Option B is the correct sentence. He's away on a business trip this week. Remember that we say business trip because a trip is usually shorter than a journey. B is the correct one. The train arrived on time and I picked her up at the station.

5:53 On time means punctually. It refers to punctuality. For example, the meeting started on time. That is to say, not late. Next sentence. Spot the mistake.

6:07 Option A. My interests are travel and photography. Version B. My interests are travels and photography. All right, count to three or pause the video here. Option A is the correct sentence.

6:25 My interests are travel and photography. Excellent. Next sentence. Option A. On her travel, she visited Egypt, Jordan and South Africa. Option B.

6:40 On her travels, she visited Egypt, Jordan and South Africa. The correct option is B. On her travels. A. Did you have a good travel? B.

6:56 Did you have a good journey? I think you remember this one. Let's count to three and I'll give you the correct answer. Yes, option B is the correct one. Did you have a good journey? Because journey is a countable noun, we can say, we can indeed say a journey, but we can't say a travel, a good travel.

7:22 Very good. I'll call you when I get back from my blank. Three options. A. Travels. B.

7:33 Travel. C. A travel. Take a moment to think about the answer. Yes, travels. Very good.

7:45 For example, in real life you'll usually hear: she wrote a book about her travels in Asia. Her travels, my travels, your travels. Next sentence: they have made several blank to Europe. Three options: travels, travel or trips? Count to three and I'll give you the correct answer. Trips. Yes, they have made several trips to Europe. Remember that trip is countable. We can say a trip, several trips.

8:23 For example, we took two trips to the coast last summer. Next sentence. Long distance, blank, has become much cheaper. Three options. A travel, travel, or travels in plural. Let's count to three and I'll give you the correct answer.

8:45 Travel is the correct answer here. Long distance travel has become much cheaper. The activity in general, which is an uncountable noun. In real life, you'll often hear: air travel is safer than ever. Next sentence: after a long blank by coach, we finally reached the hotel. Three options: journey, travel or voyage. Think about it. Three seconds. Journey is the correct answer.

9:24 After a long journey by coach, we finally reached the hotel. Remember that a long journey goes from A to B. We don't say a long travel. And in real life, you'll often hear: the journey from Madrid to Paris takes about 11 hours by coach. Very good. Next sentence.

9:50 The concert started blank, at exactly 8 o'clock. Three options. One, in time. Two, at time. And three, on time. Which is the correct answer here?

10:09 The correct option is on time. Remember that on time refers to punctuality. We don't say in this case in time. For example, the meeting started on time. Very good, next sentence. Luckily, the doctor arrived blank to save him three options.

10:35 At time, in time and on time. Which is the correct answer? Think about it for a few seconds and I'll give you the correct answer. In time. Yes: luckily, the doctor arrived in time to save him. In time means early enough…

11:01 …before it is too late. For example, we got to the cinema in time for the film. Now, exercise 31.4. In this section of the book there are two travel blogs, Eric's and Mona's. Let's… begin. The flight wasn't blank and we finally took off. Three options. A. Cancelled.

11:26 B. Postponed. And C. Stopped. Three seconds for you. The correct option is cancelled. Cancelled, yes: it's the past tense of the verb cancel, so it ends with -ed. Why? Cancelled means that the flight did not go at all, and in everyday life you usually hear: our…

11:51 …flight was cancelled because of the blizzard. Blizzard, B-L-I-Z-Z-A-R-D. Very good. Let's continue with the next sentence. The blank crew were very friendly and helpful. Three options, one, air, two, ground, and three, cabin. Think for three seconds and I'll give you the correct answer. Cabin is the correct answer. The cabin crew were very friendly and helpful. Cabin crew work on the plane. In everyday life, we usually say: the cabin crew were attentive and friendly. Mind you, cabin crew is a compound noun…

12:40 …so the stress falls on the first word. So you say CABIN crew. For example, TAKEoff, or even CREDIT card. Very good. Next sentence: the blank was not so bad and soon we were collecting our baggage. Three options: one, boarding; two, landing; and three, takeoff. This is not take OFF but TAKEoff. Three seconds, and I'll give you the correct answer. Landing. The landing was not so bad and soon we were collecting our baggage. So why is landing the correct option here? A landing can be smooth or bumpy.

13:33 In real life, you'll often hear the plane made an emergency landing. Next sentence. They put me on standby and I got a blank on a later train. Three options. One, seat. Two, wing.

13:54 Three, deck. Which is the correct option? One, two, three. Seat. They put me on standby and I got a seat on a later train. A seat is a place to sit on a train, plane or bus.

14:14 Real life example. Could I have a window seat, please? Next sentence. I needed a blank car to travel overnight. Three options: one, buffet; number two, express; and number three, sleeping. One, two, three: sleeping.

14:39 I needed a sleeping car to travel overnight. Very good. A sleeping car has beds for overnight travel. And mind you, we say sleeping car, not sleeping car. And we say overnight travel, or to travel overnight. In overnight travel, overnight is an adjective, but in to travel overnight, overnight is an adverb. In real life, you'll often hear: we reserved two berths in the sleeping car. Berths.

15:17 That's B-E-R-T-H. And that's a bed on a train or ship. It sounds exactly like birth. B-I-R-T-H. These are homophones, like sun, S-U-N, you know, the star, and son, as in mother and son. Very good.

15:38 Next sentence. The alternative was the early blank train at 6.30 a.m. Three options: night, morning, evening. One, two, three: morning is the correct option here. The alternative was the early morning train at 6.30 a.m. Early morning… …very early in the day. For example, I caught the early morning train to work. Next sentence: I hope the sea is blank. Three options: one, calm; two, rough, R-O-U-G-H; and three, hard, as in H-A-R-D.

16:29 One, two, three: the correct option is “I hope the sea is calm”. Calm is the opposite of rough in this context. Very good. In everyday life, you'll often hear: the sea was completely calm when we set sail. Exercise 31.5. Over to you. Have you ever been on a high-speed train?

16:53 You can answer these questions and drop them in the comments below. I'll correct them and give you feedback. Next one. Which do you prefer on a plane? A window or an aisle seat? Why?

17:05 Do you usually visit the duty-free shop? What do you look for? And the last question, what do you do before going through security? We come to the end of Unit 31, Travel from English Vocabulary in Use, Upper Intermediate. If you're listening to the podcast, this is Alex's Adventures, the British English podcast. If you're on my YouTube channel, that's Alex's Adventures in English.

17:36 I'm Alex, a professional English teacher who loves to break down real English. If you enjoyed this episode, like and subscribe. It's free. Click the bell and you'll get a notification next time I'm live or when I publish a new episode. If you join me on Patreon, you get early access and extra content. Next time, we go up a level, to Advanced, with a unit on accommodation. Goodbye for now. Talk to you later. Take care. Cheers!