Zuo Or Qi? 坐 与 骑

To get from one place to another, we can either walk or take a vehicle of some kind. Depending on the type of vehicle, we describe the action of taking it with the Mandarin Chinese co-verbs 坐 (zuò) or 騎/骑 (qí).
Zuò – Ride On A Seat

The co-verb 坐 (zuò) is used with any vehicle in which you can sit down. This includes cars, buses, trains, boats, or planes.
Qí - Straddle

The co-verb 騎/骑 (qí) is used for any means of conveyance that you have to straddle, such as a motorcycle, bicycle, or horse.

Sentence Construction

The structure of sentences which use either 坐 or 騎/骑 is as follows:

SUBJECT – 坐 or 騎/骑 + NOUN – DIRECTION – 來/来 or 去

For example:

    他坐船到澎湖群島去。
    他坐船到澎湖群岛去。
    Tā zuò chuán dào péng hú qúndǎo qù.
    He took a boat to the Peng Hu islands. (Literally: He by boat to Peng Hu islands go.)

Here are a few more examples:

    他們坐飛機去。
    他们坐飞机去。
    Tāmen zuò fēijī qù.
    They went by plane. (Literally: They by plane go.)

    我騎腳踏車到學校去。
    我骑脚踏车到学校去。
    Wǒ qí jiǎotàchē dào xuéxiào qù.
    I go to school by bicycle.

    她很喜歡騎摩托車來。
    她很喜欢骑摩托车来。
    Tā hěn xǐhuan qí mótuōchē lái.
    She likes to come by motorcycle.

    我們從北京坐飛機來。
    我们从北京坐飞机来。
    Wǒmen cóng Běijīng zuò fēijī lái.
    We came from Beijing by plane.