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Which is the grammatically correct statement :

"We are travelling in a car"

Or

"We are travelling by a car"

Hugo
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Aparna Bhattacharya
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  • The construction "travel in a car" focuses on your current location (physically located inside a car); "travel by car" (not by a* car) focuses on the method of travel. By contrast, "travel by a car" indicates you passed by a car* on your trip. – Dan Bron Nov 24 '14 at 15:24
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    See this answer: http://english.stackexchange.com/a/17946/18696 – Andrew Leach Nov 24 '14 at 15:24

2 Answers2

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If you say travel by something, it means you are travelling by the means of transportation. For example, "I travelled by car" means that I am travelling using a car for transportation.

If you say travel in something, it means you are literally travelling while inside a specific vehicle. For example, "I travelled in a car" means that you are travelling literally inside a car.

Vedaad Shakib
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  • Unless you ride on the roof, it's hard to travel by car without being in a car. The real distinction is the nuance Dan Bron mentioned in his comment. – Barmar Nov 24 '14 at 20:50
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Another smaller nuance is that in America (US) we spell it "traveling". Don't know if the question was about British usage or American.

Brian Hitchcock
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