11.2 Free Time, Hobbies, Travel and Transport

Cambridge A2 Key KET

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1 Introduction & Exam Overview

1.1 What Is Cambridge A2 Key (KET)? 1.2 Exam Format: Three Papers 1.3 Who Takes A2 Key and How It Is Delivered 1.4 Study Hours and Preparation Path

2 Scoring, Grades & Results

2.1 The Cambridge English Scale 2.2 Grades A, B, C and Certificates 2.3 How Your Overall Score Is Calculated

3 Reading Parts 1–3: Understanding Texts

3.1 Reading Overview (Parts 1–5) 3.2 Reading Part 1: Short Texts and Main Message 3.3 Reading Part 2: Multiple Matching 3.4 Reading Part 3: Longer Text Detail and Gist

4 Reading Parts 4–5: Vocabulary and Grammar Cloze

4.1 Reading Part 4: Multiple-Choice Cloze 4.2 Collocations and Phrasal Verbs for Part 4 4.3 Reading Part 5: Open Cloze 4.4 Grammar Words for Open Cloze

5 Writing Part 6: Guided Message

5.1 Writing Overview (Parts 6–7) 5.2 Part 6 Guided Writing Task 5.3 Model Emails and Content-Point Checklists

6 Writing Part 7 & Assessment Criteria

6.1 Part 7 Picture Story 6.2 Narrative Language and Connectors 6.3 Writing Assessment: Content, Organisation, Language

7 Listening Parts 1–3

7.1 Listening Paper Overview 7.2 Listening Part 1: Short Dialogues and Pictures 7.3 Listening Part 2: Gap Fill Notes 7.4 Listening Part 3: Conversation Multiple Choice

8 Listening Parts 4–5 & Detail Skills

8.1 Listening Part 4: Gist and Main Message 8.2 Listening Part 5: Matching 8.3 Numbers, Times, Prices and Spelling

9 Speaking Test

9.1 Speaking Test Format 9.2 Speaking Part 1: Interview 9.3 Speaking Part 2: Discussion 9.4 Speaking Assessment Criteria

10 A2 Grammar Essentials

10.1 Present and Past Tenses 10.2 Future Forms, Modals and Obligation 10.3 Comparatives, Superlatives, Adverbs and Word Order 10.4 Questions, Negatives and There Is/Are

11 A2 Vocabulary Topics

11.1 People, Home and Daily Routines 11.2 Free Time, Hobbies, Travel and Transport 11.3 Food, Shopping, Money and Health 11.4 Places in Town, Services and Simple Technology

12 Functional Language for Exam Tasks

12.1 Requests, Offers, Invitations and Suggestions 12.2 Opinions, Agreeing, Disagreeing and Preferences 12.3 Describing People, Places and Events; Simple Narration

13 Exam Day and Test Strategy

13.1 Digital vs Paper-Based and the 2026 Change 13.2 What Happens on Exam Day 13.3 Full Practice Tests and Timing Plans

14 Results and Next Steps

14.1 Interpreting Your Statement of Results 14.2 From A2 Key to B1 Preliminary

11.2 Free Time, Hobbies, Travel and Transport

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Free-time language (sports, hobbies, cinema, music) powers Speaking Parts 1–2 and many Reading texts; learn play/go/do sport patterns and enjoy/keen on chunks.

Travel collocations—go on holiday, book a ticket, catch a train, pack a suitcase—appear in Part 4 gaps and Listening announcements.

Transport words need partners: by bus, on foot, get off at, platform, departure board, not single translations alone.

Basic directions (turn left, go straight on, opposite the station) help Listening map/place items and Speaking when discussing meeting points.

Stations and airports at A2 focus on simple passenger language: ticket, gate, delay, luggage, passport control—not technical aviation.

Last updated: July 2026

11.2 Free Time, Hobbies, Travel and Transport

Quick Answer: Build play / go / do sport patterns, hobby verbs ( collect, cook, take photos ), entertainment phrases ( watch a film, go to a concert ), and travel chunks ( go on holiday, catch the train, turn left ). These topics dominate Speaking , fill Reading Part 4 gaps, and drive Listening questions about times, platforms, prices, and plans.

After people and routines, examiners expect you to talk about what you do for fun and how you travel . This section is a practical map of those two worlds—with tables of chunks , not endless word lists.

Exam Connections

Paper area Typical free-time / travel focus
Speaking Part 1 Hobbies, weekends, last holiday, how you get to school
Speaking Part 2 Choose a free-time activity, gift, or day trip with a partner
Reading Part 2–3 Texts about clubs, trips, sports people
Reading Part 4 play football , go swimming , take a trip , miss the bus
Listening Meeting times, train platforms, film start times, directions
Writing Part 6 Invite a friend to the cinema; describe a short trip
Sports and Physical Activities
The play / go / do pattern (learn as a system)

Pattern Use with Examples
play ball sports, competitive games, instruments play football, tennis, basketball, chess; play the guitar
go -ing activities, movement sports go swimming, go skiing, go running, go cycling
do martial arts, non-ball “disciplines,” exercise do yoga, do karate, do athletics, do exercise

Memory tip: If it ends in -ing as the activity name in many coursebooks ( swimming ), it often takes go . Ball + team sports often take play .

Useful sport chunks

Chunk Example

play for a team / school team She plays for the school team.

win / lose a match We lost the match 2–1.

score a goal He scored two goals.

train / practise They train on Thursdays.

be good at + sport I’m good at tennis.

keep fit I run to keep fit.

join a club I joined a football club.

Near-miss Part 4 options

Sentence stem Best Common wrong
On Sundays we _____ swimming. go play / make
Can you _____ the piano? play go / do
She _____ yoga after work. does plays / goes
Hobbies and Indoor Free Time
High-value hobby verbs

Chunk Note
read books / magazines quiet free time
watch TV / films / series screen time
listen to music / the radio audio
cook / bake home hobby
draw / paint / take photos creative
collect stamps / coins collecting
play video games digital leisure
meet friends social
hang out with friends informal social (recognition + careful production)
go shopping (as leisure) not only “buy milk”
Like / enjoy / keen patterns

Pattern Example

like + noun / -ing I like music. I like dancing.

love / hate + -ing She loves cooking.

enjoy + -ing They enjoy travelling.

be interested in + noun / -ing He’s interested in history.

be keen on + noun / -ing I’m keen on photography.

be into (informal) She’s into rock music. (use carefully; know it in Listening)

prefer X to Y I prefer football to tennis.

Speaking expansion formula: hobby + when + why

I enjoy cycling at the weekend because it’s free and I keep fit.

Cinema, Music, and Simple Culture

These feed invitations (Writing Part 6) and Listening times.

Chunk Use
go to the cinema / movies outing
watch a film / movie at home or cinema
the film starts at… Listening times
book tickets online modern life
be sold out no tickets left
comedy, action film, cartoon simple genres
listen to a band / singer music
go to a concert / festival live event
download / stream music tech + free time (see also 11.4)
play an instrument guitar, piano, drums
in the audience / on stage basic event roles

Invitation chunks: Would you like to go to the cinema on Friday? The film starts at half past seven.

Holidays and Travel Experiences
Core holiday collocations

Chunk Meaning
go on holiday take a vacation (British holiday )
go away for the weekend short trip
stay in a hotel / hostel / with friends accommodation
book a room / book tickets reserve
pack a suitcase / bag prepare luggage
go sightseeing visit famous places
take photos record the trip
buy souvenirs gifts/memory objects
send a postcard classic Writing/Reading topic
have a good time enjoy
come back / get back return
be delayed late transport
Trip types (recognition + light production)

Word Cue
day trip go and return same day
city break short city holiday
camping tent
beach holiday sea and sand
school trip organised by school
Time-off language

Chunk Example

have time off I have two weeks off in August.

public holiday The banks are closed.

summer holidays long school break

Original Part 4 line: Last year we _____ on holiday to Portugal and _____ in a small hotel near the beach. → went / stayed

Transport Modes and Partners
How you travel (by + transport)

Phrase Note
by bus / train / tram / metro / underground public transport
by car / taxi road
by plane / by air air travel
by bike cycling
on foot walking (not by foot in careful A2 teaching)
on the bus / on the train when you are aboard
in the car inside a car
Verb + transport collocations

Chunk Meaning
take / catch a bus or train use that service
miss the bus too late to board
get on / get off enter / leave a bus or train
get in / get out of a car car-specific
change trains switch services
ride a bike cycle
drive a car be the driver
fly to (city) travel by plane
walk to school go on foot
Timetable and ticket language

Word / chunk Listening / Reading use
timetable / schedule when services run
single / return ticket one way / both ways
fare / ticket price money
platform train location
departure / arrival leave / come in
delay / cancelled problems
season ticket regular travel pass (recognition)

Detail drill: If you hear The 10:15 train is delayed by twenty minutes , the arrival logic changes—even if the platform stays the same.

Stations, Airports, and Simple Passenger English

A2 does not need pilot vocabulary. It needs passenger survival English .

Station / bus station

Word Use
ticket office / ticket machine buy tickets
information desk ask for help
waiting room sit and wait
platform number where to stand
departure board screens with times
left-luggage store bags (recognition)
Airport (basic)

Word Use
check-in give bags / get boarding pass
boarding pass card/document to board
gate where you enter the plane area
passport control / security checks
luggage / suitcase / hand luggage bags
flight number e.g. BA123
baggage reclaim get bags after landing

Useful passenger lines:

Excuse me, which platform for London?

Is this train delayed?

Where is gate 12?

I need a return ticket to the airport, please.

Directions (Town + Travel)

Directions link this section to places in town (11.4) and Listening map tasks.

Chunk Meaning
go straight on continue forward
turn left / turn right change direction
take the second turning on the left more precise
It’s on the left / right location
opposite the station facing
next to / beside the bank adjacent
between the café and the park middle
at the traffic lights / roundabout landmarks
How do I get to…? ask the way
You can’t miss it easy to see

Speaking Part 2 link: When choosing where to meet a friend, use place + direction + transport: Let’s meet opposite the cinema. We can go by bus and get off at the library stop.

Worked Multi-Skill Mini-Scenario (Original)

Context: Sam plans a free Saturday.

Sam is keen on photography. He wants to go to the city museum, then meet a friend at the cinema. The film starts at 7:45. He usually goes by metro, but the line is delayed, so he decides to go by bus and get off opposite the station. After the film they might go for a pizza.

Reading Part 4 style gaps you could invent: keen on , starts at , by bus , get off , opposite .

Listening details to train: film time; transport change; meeting place.

Speaking: I’m interested in photography. On Saturdays I often go to museums. I usually travel by metro, but sometimes I take the bus.

Collocation Priority Tables (Study These Deeply)
Table A — Free time

Do say Avoid as default
go swimming play swimming
play the guitar do the guitar
do exercise make exercise
take a photo make a photo
have a good time pass a good time (L1 transfer)
Table B — Travel

Do say Avoid as default
go on holiday go for holiday (common error)
catch/miss the train lose the train for lateness
book a ticket invite a ticket
pack a suitcase make a suitcase
arrive at the airport arrive to the airport (preposition care)
Practice Loop for One Week

Day 1: Write play/go/do lists from your real life (10 items).

Day 2: 90-second talk: last holiday + how you travelled.

Day 3: Draw a simple route from your home to a cinema; label with direction chunks.

Day 4: Six-gap paragraph about a school trip; test collocations.

Day 5: Listening focus—any timetable audio; write three numbers you hear.

Checklist
I can choose play/go/do correctly for five sports/activities
I can speak for one minute about a hobby with interested in / keen on / enjoy
I know holiday packing/booking chunks
I can explain how I travel to school/work with by / on foot
I can give simple directions using turn , opposite , next to
I recognise basic station and airport passenger words

Leisure and travel language makes you sound like a full person in the exam, not only a grammar machine. Next comes food, shopping, money, and health—the practical “out in town” survival set.