A Taxi Ride: English for Destinations, Fares, and Polite Requests

Learn English for taking a taxi, telling the driver where you want to go, and asking about the fare. This free A1 lesson for adult beginners begins the unit on getting around the city. Its 20 interactive slides include a transportation survey, a taxi conversation video and quiz, vocabulary audio, listening activities, present simple grammar, a short reading, and a dialogue-completion task.

What you will learn

• Use can and could to make polite requests.
• Ask about prices using How much ...?
• Use simple imperatives to give directions.
• Role-play a taxi conversation using useful grammar and vocabulary.

Talking about how you travel

Start with the transportation survey. Say how often you travel on foot, by bike, car, motorcycle, water taxi, taxi, bus, SkyTrain, or subway. Choose frequency expressions such as always, often, sometimes, not often, and never.

The discussion asks how often you use taxis, when you use them, and what you think of the service in your city. Practice I take a taxi about once a week., I use taxis when I am in a hurry., and The taxi service in my city is very good.

Taxi and transportation vocabulary

Listen to the vocabulary cards, repeat each word, and connect it with a picture or a short example.

In the lesson, main station means the central train station. Got it. is an informal way to say I understand. The expression Keep the change. tells the other person they can keep the money that would otherwise be returned.

Telling a taxi driver your destination

Use Can you take me to ...? and add a place. You can also use I would like to go to ... or Could you take me to ..., please?

• Can you take me to the main station?
• Could you take me to the airport, please?
• I would like to go to Station Hotel, please.
• Can we get there before six o'clock?

Practice requests for help and comfort: Could you help me with my luggage, please?, Could you open the windows, please?, and Could you turn up the air conditioning, please?

Asking about the fare and payment

Use How much is the ride? or How much is the fare? to ask about the price. To ask about a payment method, say Do you take credit cards? or Can I pay in cash?

Other useful questions from the lesson include Will it take long? and Is the traffic bad at this time of day? Listen for a driver asking Where would you like to go? or Would you like a receipt?

Watching a taxi conversation

In the video, a passenger wants to go to the main station to catch a train. He asks whether they can arrive before 6:00, asks about the fare, and checks whether the driver takes credit cards.

The final fare in this lesson conversation is $14.25. The passenger gives the driver $15 in cash and says Keep the change. Watch once for the general meaning, then use the quiz slide to identify the destination, reason for travel, fare, and payment method.

A short taxi role-play

Passenger: Hello. Could you take me to the main station, please?
Driver: Sure. Would you like help with your bags?
Passenger: Yes, please. Will it take long?
Driver: The traffic is not bad right now.
Passenger: How much is the fare? Do you take credit cards?
Driver: Yes, I take cards and cash.
Passenger: Great. Please drop me off at the entrance.
Driver: Certainly. Have a great trip.

This model is for English practice. Switch roles and change the destination. To give a short direction, use an imperative such as Turn left, please., Stop here, please., or Just drop me off here, please.

Listening to different transport conversations

Listen to six short conversations and match each one to the correct transport picture: bus, subway, train, plane, ferry, or taxi. Listen for clues such as a fare box, a dining car, a flight, or a request to go to a hotel.

Focus first on the type of transport, then listen again for details. In the taxi conversation, Are you free? asks whether the driver is available, and Where to? asks for the destination.

Present simple with am, is, and are

Use be to describe a situation, a condition, or a price. Use am with I, is with he, she, or it, and are with you, we, or they.

• I am here.
• The traffic is not bad.
• We are at the station.
• Is the traffic bad?

Make a negative by adding not: It is not expensive. or It isn't expensive. For a question, put am, is, or are before the subject. Complete the grammar quiz to practice choosing the correct form.

Present simple with action verbs

Use the base verb with I, you, we, and they: I take a taxi. Add -s with he, she, or it: He takes a taxi.

Use do or does for questions, and don't or doesn't for negatives. Keep the main verb in its base form after these helpers.

• Do you take credit cards?
• Does he take credit cards?
• I don't take the bus.
• He doesn't take cheques.
• How much does it cost?

The word-order activity practices questions and negatives about everyday routines. Put the words in order, then notice where do, does, and the subject appear.

Passenger phrases and driver responses

In the sorting activity, separate what you say as a passenger from what you hear from a driver. A passenger might ask about an airport supplement, request help with luggage, or say where to stop. A driver might offer to put bags in the boot, the British English word for a car's trunk, or ask whether you want a receipt.

Practice the phrases in pairs. One learner makes a request, and the other gives a short response before asking the next question.

Reading: A Taxi Ride to the Station

Read the lesson story about Tom taking a taxi from his hotel to the main station. He needs to catch a train. Traffic is not bad, and he arrives on time. In this reading example, the fare is about $12, and Tom pays in cash.

Answer the questions about his destination, the traffic, the fare, and how he feels at the end. Practice the short answer No, he doesn't. when asked Does Tom pay by card? The quick quiz then checks which expression asks about the cost of a trip.

Completing a transport dialogue

The writing slide asks you to complete a conversation with four missing phrases: to school, get to school, take it, and does it cost. The completed model is:

A: Where do you get the bus to school?
B: I don't take the bus.
A: Oh. How do you get to school?
B: I take the subway.
A: How often do you take it?
B: I take it every day.
A: How much does it cost?
B: It costs about $50 a month.

This is a classroom dialogue with example details. Change the transport, destination, frequency, and cost to create another practice conversation. Teachers can finish with a taxi role-play; self-study learners can record both roles and check their question forms.

Review hotel check-out and departure phrases in Lesson 27, or explore more free A1 English teaching materials.