Korean Job Discussion Forums

[JAWINSEOUL]

I am trying to explain to a friend why we say the following:

Play Soccer
Play Hockey
Play Ping Pong
Go Skateboarding
Go swimming
Go Mountainclimbing
Compete in Archery


I know that swimming and climbing are verbs, and if it's not a competion you "GO" .

[Ya-ta Boy]

I think it's very confusing too. Part of the rules seems to be that we 'play' if there is a ball or other similar equipment involved.

Don't forget 'do'. We do aerobics and martial arts.

Then there is wrestling.

[VanIslander]

language rules usually have exceptions, and these rules are only guestimates for unknown cases - our students should use it to help them memorize what goes with what

i introduce it as: we play TEAM SPORTS and go [out of our home activity for fun]

play
play soccer
play badminton (sometimes have teams)
play tennis (ditto)

go hiking
go bowling (though sometimes on teams)
go shopping
go bird watching
go running

i don't feel a need to JUSTIFY rules or see them AS definitive. they simply help us remember the FACTS of the language. Koreans want a simple rule they can apply to all situations but the fact is there is no silver bullet. make a master list (mine is in the office and is huge) under each usage and present it as matter of fact and get them to come up with a rule! that's how i came up with the "team sport" vs. "outside home fun activity")

most importantly, you "go [verb]-ing" , so you can fish or go fishing, you can't tennis, can't baseball. all instances of "go" can be converted into base verb form. it's another difference

design lessons and review games to cover a lot of examples, and they'll learn it

[SuperHero]

play sports require more than one person

go sports can be done alone (though often aren't)

[jacl]

How 'bout "play women"?

[Qinella]

You play games. Baseball is a game. Skiing is not a game. Hence, you either ski, or go skiing.

Considering that Koreans "strike the piano", "saw the violin" and "blow the flute", I think it shouldn't be a problem for them to have various action verbs to describe similar activities.

Q.

[BigBuds]

[ontheway]

Generally:

we play games

we play music

we do and go for sports and athletic events

we do a puzzle, do magic tricks, do a yo-yo, do yo-yo tricks

Learning expressions take lots of practice.

[kermo]

When I explain recreational activities, I keep it very simple. If you get points, you play it. If not, you go _________ing. This works in the majority of cases (can't think of an exception other than music) and there's a nice logic to it.

[VanIslander]

[EFLtrainer]

[EFLtrainer]

[Hollywoodaction]

It's not just about sports. You simply don't use the verb 'to play' in front of a gerund. Wouldn't it be awkward if you said, "I like to play reading magazines"?

[SuperHero]

[Ya-ta Boy]