prepositions - "By foot" vs. "on foot"



  • Which one is correct?




  1. I go to school by foot.

  2. I go to school on foot.




  • Are there instances when the expression by foot is preferred?


My last question is the following:



  • Why is the singular noun, foot, used?


If a person goes to school by bus/train/car they are using only one means of transport, they are travelling in one car not two. But people use both feet for walking, so why would the following expressions be ungrammatical?




  1. I go to school by feet

  2. I go to school on feet



I read the answers on this question why is it always "on foot" not "on feet"? but they did not convince me.



Answer



"By" in this context normally refers to a mode of transportation whereas "in" or "on" would refer to your position whilst travelling.



We travel by car



This suggests we are using a car to travel.



We travel in a car



This implies we are inside of a car while traveling.


EDIT


Adding quotes around the phrase in google makes a big difference in results. The following reflects a more accurate search:


When it comes to using "on foot" or "by foot," either would be correct; however, a quick google search demonstrated that "on foot" is more commonly used (34M hits vs. 7.9M hits).


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