"by foot" or "on foot"

[edmondjanet]

I came here by foot.
I came here on foot. I have heard both.Can we use both?
Thank you.

 

[bwkcaj_ca]

We say 'on foot.' 'By' is used when we talk about using some other mode
of transportation -- 'by bicycle' for example.

 

[bhaisahab]

I came here by foot.
I came here on foot. I have heard both.Can we use both?
Thank you.

"I came here by foot" is quite commonly used in Indian English but it is not universally accepted. "on foot" is always correct.

 

[Allen165]

I came here by foot.
I came here on foot. I have heard both.Can we use both?
Thank you.

NOT A TEACHER.

In colloquial English, "foot" can also be used as a verb: "Do you wanna take the bus? Nah, let's foot it."

 

[BobK]

:up: Also, it's tempting to use foot after by at the end of a list: 'He went by train, bus, plane, bicycle, and [on] foot'. I've heard the 'on' omitted there, although I think I'd resist the temptation. ;-)

b

 

[Tdol]

"I came here by foot" is quite commonly used in Indian English but it is not universally accepted. "on foot" is always correct.

And you will occasionally hear it in BrE, though on is the preposition of choice.

 

[ratóncolorao]

What about going somewhere by walking?;-)

 

[Allen165]

What about going somewhere by walking?;-)

NOT A TEACHER.

Why not just use the verb "walk"?

 

[ratóncolorao]

NOT A TEACHER.

Why not just use the verb "walk"?

Yeah, why not?

We walk to school

We go to school by walking ;-)

 

[BobK]

Lest there is room for any doubt, 'We go to school by walking' is just wrong.

'How did you get to school?' expects an answer such as 'We walked' or 'On foot'.

b

 

[ratóncolorao]

Lest there is room for any doubt, 'We go to school by walking' is just wrong.

'How did you get to school?' expects an answer such as 'We walked' or 'On foot'.

b

Goodness me! once I saw it in a book and I took it for granted that it was correct.

What about "by walk"? Does it exist?

Thank you for your help

 

[Mannysteps]

Not a teacher

"by walk" is wrong

M.

 

[BobK]

Goodness me! once I saw it in a book and I took it for granted that it was correct.

What about "by walk"? Does it exist?

Thank you for your help

You may have done. There are contexts where it would work - particularly when 'walking' achieves something other than just locomotion: "He got to speak to him by walking down a corridor just when he knew the President would be finishing his meeting.'

Or , perhaps more realistically, 'You can get to the Festival Hall either by walking from Waterloo or by taking the tube to Embankment and crossing Hungerford Bridge.'

Mannysteps is right about [STRIKE] 'by walk'[/STRIKE].

b

 

[virus99]

What about "we shoed over to the Festival Hall".

Seriously, what commonly used synonyms for "walk" and "go" do you know?

e.g. to stroll

Thanks

 

[emsr2d2]

What about "we shoed over to the Festival Hall".

Seriously, what commonly used synonyms for "walk" and "go" do you know?

e.g. to stroll

Thanks

To stroll
To wander
To amble
To womble (very colloquial!)
To mooch (though that suggests walking slowly around a place, not from one place to another)
To stagger
To hoof it (very colloquial and means to run very fast actually)
To leg it (same as hoof it)
To hotfoot it (slang - to run)

 

[BobK]

Very formal, tending to archaic: 'perambulate'. Originally the word 'pram' was an abbreviation of 'perambulator'; but as with 'bus' - from an original 'omnibus' (Latin omnibus, 'for all') - an apostrophe would be excessive. (This and its derivatives can still be heard in real life - at least in some circles. A few weeks ago, at Lord's Cricket Ground, when the public were allowed to walk on the hallowed turf during the lunch break, the announcement was 'Perambulation is permitted'! ;-))

Much less formal, in fact downright informal: 'to go by Shanks's pony'.

b

PS I imagine a Google search would explain who Shanks was. It might not be related to a person, and the capital letter may have just appeared out of nowhere; one of the Johns (II, I think) had the nickname 'Longshanks' - shank was once a common synonym for 'leg'.

 

[BobK]

Bonggg. Neither John, nor II. It was John II's great-grandson Edward I.

b