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COLLOCATIONS

This document discusses collocations used with sports and activities in British and American English. It notes that in British English you can "do sport" while in American English you can "play sports". It provides rules for using the verbs "go", "do", and "play" with different types of sports and activities. "Go" is used with activities ending in "-ing", "do" is used with individual or non-team sports, and "play" is used with team sports involving balls or competition. Examples are given for different sports that collocate with each verb.

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358 views3 pages

COLLOCATIONS

This document discusses collocations used with sports and activities in British and American English. It notes that in British English you can "do sport" while in American English you can "play sports". It provides rules for using the verbs "go", "do", and "play" with different types of sports and activities. "Go" is used with activities ending in "-ing", "do" is used with individual or non-team sports, and "play" is used with team sports involving balls or competition. Examples are given for different sports that collocate with each verb.

Uploaded by

Victor Perez
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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COLLOCATIONS : DO /PLAY / GO WITH SPORTS

Collocations: do, play or go with sports and other


activities
In British English, you can "do sport". In American English you can "play
sports".
A typical mistake Spanish speakers make is using the verb practise for sports:
*I love practising sport. This should be: I love sport.
*I usually practise sport every evening. This should be: I usually do sport
every evening.
However, in American English you can use the verb practise or practice (as it
is spelt there) to mean "to train": The team is practicing for tomorrow's
competition.
When other words related to sports are used, we may use other verbs:
"What sports do you do?"
"I play tennis".
Observe these pictures:

Go skiing

Do karate

Play tennis

There are three verbs that collocate with sports and other free time activities:
go, do and play, but they are not interchangeable:

Go is used with activities and sports that end in -ing. The verb go here
implies that we go somewhere to practice this sport: go swimming.

Do is used with recreational activities and with individual, non-team


sports or sports in which a ball is not used, like martial arts, for
example: do a crossword puzzle, do athletics, do karate.

Play is generally used with team sports and those sports that need a ball
or similar object (puck, disc, shuttlecock...). Also, those activities in
which two people or teams compete against each other: play football,
play poker, play chess.

In this table there is a list of sports and activities that collocate with these
verbs:
Go
Do
Play
riding

aerobics

badminton

jogging

gymnastics

table-tennis

hitch-hiking

taekwondo

football

fishing

judo

basketball

sailing

karate

chess

windsurfing

kung-fu

cricket

skiing

ballet

board games

snowboarding

excercise

snooker

swimming

yoga

hockey

dancing

athletics

baseball

skating

archery

rugby

cycling

a crossword puzzle volleyball

running
tai chi
Some exceptions to the rules:

squash

You use do with two activities that end in -ing: do boxing and do bodybuilding, because they don't imply moving along as the other activities
ending in -ing.

Golf: if there is an idea of competition, you use the verb play.


However, you can say go golfing if you do it for pleasure: Tiger Woods
plays golf. We'll go golfing at the weekend.

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