Job Discussion Forums

[gorkomi]

A student said, "I went to raft in Africa."

I told him, "We say 'I went rafting'."

"Why teacher?"

"We don't use 'went to' with a present tense verb. We use it with 'ing'.

Another student said, "I went cleaning my car?"

Crap. No. We say, "I went to clean my car."

What is the rule with "went" ?

[Sashadroogie]

OK, it's not a rule for 'went'. There are two different grammar structures in operation here.

First up, We use 'to go' with activities and sport, and the activity uses the ~ing form: I always go shopping at the weekend; I went skiing last winter.

For the second example from your students, check 'infinitives of purpose' in Murphy's or some other grammar book. Basically, this structure explains why you did something, as in 'Why did you go?' - "I went... to clean my car".

Q.E.D.