Breakdown of ¿Tienes coche? No, voy en bici.
el coche
the car
no
no / not
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
tener
to have
ir
to go
la bici
the bike (informal)
Questions & Answers about ¿Tienes coche? No, voy en bici.
Why isn't there an un before coche?
In Spanish, when you talk about owning a common item that people usually only have one of, like a car or a house, you drop the indefinite article. You only say un coche if you want to emphasize the number, such as asking if they have exactly one car instead of two.
Why does it say en bici instead of using a word like por for by?
When talking about modes of transportation, Spanish almost always uses the preposition en. You will see this with vehicles like en coche, en tren, and en avión. The main exceptions are walking and riding a horse, where you use a instead, as in a pie and a caballo.
Is bici considered slang?
It is just a very common, everyday abbreviation for bicicleta, exactly like bike is for bicycle in English. It is perfectly normal to use in casual speech. Remember that since bicicleta is feminine, bici stays feminine, so you would say la bici or una bici even though it ends in an i.
Why use voy instead of a specific verb for riding?
The verb ir, which means to go, is the most natural way to express how you generally get around. While you could say monto en bici for I ride a bike, using voy en plus the type of transport is the standard, everyday way to explain your method of travel in Spanish.
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