Collocations: do, play or go with sports and other activities

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.

Some exceptions to the rules:

• You use do with two activities that end in -ing: do boxing and do body-building, 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.

1. Talk about a sport you are interested in

You should say:

- How you first became interested in it

- Why you like it

- What equipment and skills are needed to play it

And say if you think it is an easy sport to learn or not, and why

2. Talk about a sport you did when you were a child.

You should include in your answer:

- How often you did it

- Where you did it

- If you were good at it

And say if you would like to do

that sport again or not, and why

How many of these sports do you know?

Which one(s) do you like best?

Which one(s) would you like to try?

Who do you usually play sports with?

Why do people play sports?

Do you like to watch professional sports on television?

What is your favorite sport to watch?

Which famous athlete (sportsman / sportswoman) would you like to meet?

Debates on the topic of Sport. Are you for or against it?

· Compulsory sport in high school

· Compulsory sport in university

· Women’s boxing in the Olympics

· Yoga in the Olympics

· Free swimming pools

· The government trying to force people to use the stairs, e.g. by turning off escalators

· Turning roads into cycle lanes

· Lifetime bans for drug cheats

· Television replays for referees

· Public television competing to buy the most popular sports

· Commercial sponsorship of school sports

· Banning junk food companies from sponsoring sports

· The best local teams in one sport competing in a foreign league instead, e.g. the best

basketball teams joining the NBA

· Banning people who have been declared bankrupt from ever owning sports teams

· Banning people who have ever been found guilty of a crime from ever owning sports

teams

· Banning foreigners from owning sports teams in your country

· A limit on the number of foreign players in sports teams in your country

· Allowing everyone to compete for the country whose passport they have (whatever

their previous background)

· A test that cyclists must pass before they are allowed to ride on the road

· Banning adults cycling on the pavement

· A law forcing some landowners to open their land to hikers (along designated paths)

· Your local government building a stadium for a local professional sports team

· A government policy of concentrating on sports which are more likely to lead to medals,

e.g. ones your country have traditionally done well on or ones which are less competitive

· Leaving players out of the national team because of their lifestyle, e.g. because they

have had an affair

· Stripping players of the captain’s armband because of their lifestyle, e.g. because of a ticket for speeding

Quizzes:

1. What sport is played at Wimbledon? ______________________________________________

2. In which city were the 2000 Summer Olympic Games held? ___________________________

3. What country does the soccer player Wayne Rooney come from? ______________________

4. In which sport was Muhammad Ali the world champion? __________________________

5. How many bases are there on a baseball field? _____________________________________

6. In what country were the 2010 Winter Olympic Games held? __________________________

7. True or false? Basketball is played with a square ball. ________________________________

8. A typical golf course features how many holes? _____________________________________

9. The French Tennis Open is played on what kind of surface? ___________________________

10. What sport do the Los Angeles Lakers play? ______________________________________

11. In motor racing, which flag is waved to show the winner?__________________________________

12. Which country invented volleyball?____________________________________________________

13. In poker, which hand is more valuable, flush or full house?__________________________________

14. What is the most valuable piece in a game of chess?_______________________________________

15. How many pockets does a snooker table have?____________________________________________

16. What colours are the five Olympic rings?________________________________________________

17. World’s most ancient game is?_________________________________________________________

18. What do the five rings of the Olympic flag symbolise?______________________________________

19. Rythmic gymnastics includes the rope, ball, ribbon and what other piece of equipment?____________

20. In what year were women first allowed to participate in the modern Olympic games?_______________

Дата добавления: 2015-10-26