Table of Contents
Verbs for sports and leisure activities
We go skiing every winter.
When we talk about sport in a general way, we usually use the verb 'do':
Do you do any sport?
Or, occasionally:
Do you practise any sport?
However, 'practise' has a different meaning. 'To practise' is to do something, perhaps regularly, in order to maintain or improve our performance or specific skills, maybe before a particular event or competition. For example:
Footballers practise taking free kicks.
He's giving his first presentation so he needs to practise using PowerPoint.
She's doing well in her English course but doesn't have much opportunity to practise.
I practise cricket every week. 
I play cricket every week. Sometimes we practise our batting or bowling. 
I'm practising tennis today.
I'm playing tennis today. I'm going to practise backhands because that's my weakness.
To speak about named sports and activities, we use a specific verb. For example:
to swim
to cycle
to run
to climb
to ski
Do you do any sport?
Yes, I swim and cycle.
Or the following verbs: 'to go', 'to play', 'to do'.
To go
We use the verb 'to go' for lots of sports as well as other activities. Here are some examples:
| 'to go' + gerund | 'to go for a' + noun |
|
running cycling climbing swimming hiking skiing horse-riding skateboarding fishing dancing shopping
|
a run a bike ride a swim a walk a stroll a drink a meal
|
We tend to use 'to go' when we give extra information:
"Do you do any sport?"
"Yes, I ski and climb. I go climbing twice a week and I'm going skiing with friends in February."
To play
|
| to play |
|
Some competitive sports, especially those played with a ball |
football tennis golf squash cricket rugby
|
|
Games
Note that we also say 'to have a game of...' |
chess Monopoly draughts cards
|
|
Console/computer games |
PlayStation/X-box games on a PlayStation/X-box
|
|
Musical instruments |
the piano the violin the drums the guitar
|
To do
|
| To do |
|
A form of exercise or something we do at the gym |
gymnastics aerobics spinning* weight-training* yoga pilates
*[also used with 'go']
|
|
Martial arts |
judo taekwondo karate kung fu
|
|
Something that we try to solve |
a puzzle a quiz a crossword
|
See also 'Make' or 'do'?
Examples
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|
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| Do you fancy going out for a walk later?
No, it's too cold. Let's stay at home and play chess.
| They love doing puzzles. |
|
|
|
| She plays the piano really well - she practises every day. | She does yoga before breakfast. |
