Play, Go, Do

When we speak about sports and leisure activities the verbs 'play', 'go' and 'do' are used with different sports and activities.

Play

Play is used with sports that have teams, rules and competitions:
Badminton, baseball, football, golf, rugby and tennis are some examples.
I have been playing tennis for over ten years.
When I was young we played football just outside our house in the street.

Go

Go is used with activities where the activity is in the -ing form.
To camp – go camping
We went camping by the lake last summer.
Other activities that take 'go' are: dancing, jogging, running, hiking, riding, swimming, cycling, climbing etc.

Do

For all other recreational activities we use do. Aerobics, athletics, gymnastics, judo, karate and yoga are some examples.
All young children should be encouraged to do gymnastics.
Sarah does yoga with some of her friends.

Lesson by Tristan, teacher at EC Malta English school

Now choose the correct verb for the following:

• 1. It’s great that young people _ beach volley nowadays.
  
  play
  do
  go
  
  
• 2. We’re planning to _ hiking in the mountains for the weekend.
  
  play
  do
  go
  
  
• 3. I like to keep fit, that’s why I _ yoga.
  
  do
  play
  go
  
  
• 4. In winter a few of us meet up and _ cards.
  
  do
  play
  go
  
  
• 5. If you’re bored with just jogging you could _ something like karate instead.
  
  do
  play
  go
  
  
• 6. I love _ swimming in the summer.
  
  doing
  playing
  going
  
  
• 7. Have you ever _ golf?
  
  done
  gone
  played
  
  
• 8. I am planning to _ climbing in the Alps next spring.
  
  go
  play
  do
  
  
• 9. Do you know how to _ chess?
  
  go
  play
  do
  
  
• 10. We’ve all dreamed of _ football as professionals sometime in our lives.
  
  going
  doing
  playing