Going Crazy? Using "Go" in the English Language

Aside from the verbs to be and to have, I reckon the verb to go is one of the most useful in the English language. However, it can be a little tricky to use sometimes because you need to know whether it needs a preposition or not, and if it does, which preposition.

Go + -ing

If you want to talk about your hobbies, to go will probably become your favourite verb. When we talk about most hobbies and activities that end in -ing, we don't need to use a preposition with go. For example:

"I like to go running"

"I went kayaking yesterday"

"I think I will go swimming tomorrow".

Of course, English wouldn't be English without exceptions. Don't forget that "boxing" doesn't use to go but rather to do.

When you need a preposition to use with go, there are four main ones we use in English: to, for, on, and with. Let's look at how we use them:

Would you like to go to Easter Island?

Go + to

We use go to when we talk about places and events. The word to is used as a preposition of movement in this case, which means that you leave where you are and travel to a place or event. For example:

"John went to the beach last week."

"Have you ever been to France?"

"We are going to a concert tomorrow."

Go + for

You mainly use go for when the activity you're talking about is a noun. For example, drinks, meals, walks, runs, etc, will all use go for like this:

"Would you like to go for a drink?"

"When was the last time you went for a meal?"

"I'm going to go for a walk."

Go + on

When we use go on, it's usually with travel words that are nouns. Words such as trip, journey, voyage, tour, holiday, vacation, etc. Here are some examples:

"He often goes on business trips."

"We're going on holiday to Spain this summer."

"Did you go on many sightseeing tours last year?"

Go + with

I reckon our last preposition is the easiest. We use go with when talking about the people who accompany us. For example:

"John often goes with Jane."

"Who do you go with?"

"I think I'd rather go with my family."

We hope you've found this rundown of go useful. Remember to keep practicing, and sooner rather than later, you won't even need to think about it! Good luck!