Get in means to enter a place (a house, a building) or to get into a car or taxi. It can also mean to arrive: people say it about a train or plane, or about someone who has got home. What time does your train get in?
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get in (+ the car/a taxi); get in at + time (arrive); get on + the bus/train/plane
- Get in the car quickly, or we'll be late for the meeting.
- I lost my keys and couldn't get in until my flatmate came home.
- Our flight gets in at six in the morning, so we'll go straight to the hotel.
What changed
First versionEvery morning I get in the bus at the end of my street.
RevisionEvery morning I get on the bus at the end of my street.
You sit inside a bus, so get in the bus can seem logical. But for buses, trains and planes English uses get on. A handy rule: get on if you can stand up and walk along inside, get in for a car or taxi.
With an object, people often say get into: get into the car, get into the building. Without an object, it stays get in: The door was locked, so we couldn't get in. Get into university means something else: to be accepted by a university. In the meaning 'arrive', get in sounds informal; in formal writing, arrive is better.
Your turn
When the taxi finally arrived, we ___ and gave the driver the address.
Show the answer
got in — You get in a taxi, so got in. Got on is for a bus, train or plane, not for a car.
Write about a trip you are planning. Say what time your train or plane gets in and what you will do straight after you arrive.
My train gets in at 7:40, so I'll leave my bag at the hotel and go straight to the conference.
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