 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006swim and go swimming
When used as noun, what's the difference between swimming and going swimming in this case: I enjoy swimming; I enjoy going swimming? Or I enjoy go fishing; I enjoy going fishing? Thanks! > When used as noun, what's the difference between swimming and going > swimming in this case: I enjoy swimming; I enjoy going swimming? "I enjoy swimming", not the other one, would be the expression used by a native English speaker. A NES would say "Let's go swimming" and "I'm going swimming today" and "I like to swim". > Or I enjoy go fishing; I enjoy going fishing? Fishing present a similar set of options, although a NES would also say "I like to go fishing". I don't think that "enjoy" is the verb of choice in sentences like this; "I like (to) ... " is probably more frequently heard. "Enjoy" is the preference for native speakers of Chinese who speak English, though.  SignatureFranke: EFL teacher & medical editor Native speaker of American English; posting from Taiwan. Unmunged email: /at/easypeasy.com "Impatience is the mother of misery." Don't you think we would say: "I like swimming" instead of "I like to swim". Barbara > > When used as noun, what's the difference between swimming and going > > swimming in this case: I enjoy swimming; I enjoy going swimming? [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Unmunged email: /at/easypeasy.com > "Impatience is the mother of misery." > dontbother wrote: >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> used by a native English speaker. A NES would say "Let's go >> swimming" and "I'm going swimming today" and "I like to swim". > Don't you think we would say: > > "I like swimming" instead of "I like to swim". I think it probably depends on the way the question is worded. E.g., "What do you like to do in your free time?" demands "I like to swim", but "Which do you like best, swimming, fishing, or watching TV?" demands "I like swimming". Whether one wishes to respond to those demands is another question, though. SignatureFranke: EFL teacher & medical editor Native speaker of American English; posting from Taiwan. Unmunged email: /at/easypeasy.com "Impatience is the mother of misery." > > dontbother wrote: > >> [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Unmunged email: /at/easypeasy.com > "Impatience is the mother of misery." >>> used by a native English speaker. A NES would say "Let's go >>> swimming" and "I'm going swimming today" and "I like to swim". [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> >I think it probably depends on the way the question is worded. E.g., This is pondial, surely? "I like to swim" is not in my idiolect. Reflecting on this, it's different if the verb is followed by some more information. I could say "I like to walk to the shops", and this would be rather different from "I like walking to the shops". The latter means that I positively enjoy the experience, and the former might only mean that I think it's good for my health. "I like to <bare infinitive>." definitely sounds American to me. Katy > dontbother <dontbother@mushmail.mom> wrote: >>>> used by a native English speaker. A NES would say "Let's go [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > This is pondial, surely? "I like to swim" is not in my > idiolect. Where and when did you lose it? It seems a useful construction. I ggled the two structures (with "") and found 76,300 for the "to swim" form and 96,600 for the "swimming" form, for wahtever that's worth. > Reflecting on this, it's different if the verb is followed by > some more information. I could say "I like to walk to the > shops", and this would be rather different from "I like walking > to the shops". The latter means that I positively enjoy the > experience, and the former might only mean that I think it's > good for my health. I don't see the semantic difference you claim in that example, because there is no context. And because I can't hear it spoken, I can't tell whether there is primary stress on "walking" (in which case the act of walking rather than driving is what the speaker likes) or whether there is secondary stress on both "walking" and "shops", in which case the entire act of "walking to the shops" is what the speaker likes. > "I like to <bare infinitive>." definitely sounds American to me. It sounds like normal Standard English to me, but then, I'm an American speaker. You, not an American speaker, would be more likely to notice it as an Americanism than I would. SignatureFranke: EFL teacher & medical editor Native speaker of American English; posting from Taiwan. Unmunged email: /at/easypeasy.com "Impatience is the mother of misery." >> This is pondial, surely? "I like to swim" is not in my >> idiolect. > >Where and when did you lose it? It seems a useful construction. I "When was Rome founded?" "I didn't know it had been losted". I personally haven't lost it; my speech community may have done so, but I can't offhand think of examples in 18th or 19th century UK English. >> Reflecting on this, it's different if the verb is followed by >> some more information. I could say "I like to walk to the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >I don't see the semantic difference you claim in that example, >because there is no context. And because I can't hear it spoken, I On further reflection: "I like to X" is almost synonymous, for me and I believe for other UK speakers, with "I prefer to X", or "I choose to X". I can use it where X is something I positively dislike, without any jarring - for instance "I like to give up chocolate for Lent because that for me is a real sacrifice". "I like to walk to the shops rather than drive, for the sake of the planet." "I like Xing" is the only option for simple enjoyment of the activity. And "I don't like to" definitely carries a moral or aesthetic or quasi-political overtone; it certainly doesn't mean that I don't enjoy it. "I don't like to ask for more money because then everyone else would do the same". "I don't like to accept a second glass of wine when I'me driving because of the example it sets". >> "I like to <bare infinitive>." definitely sounds American to me. > >It sounds like normal Standard English to me, but then, I'm an >American speaker. You, not an American speaker, would be more >likely to notice it as an Americanism than I would. Indeed. Katy >On further reflection: "I like to X" is almost synonymous, for me and I >believe for other UK speakers, with "I prefer to X", or "I choose to X". I can [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >"I like Xing" is the only option for simple enjoyment of the activity. Yes. The only BrE context for "I like to swim" that I could think of was something like "When I go to the baths I like to swim: I don't want to waste my time just splashing around and chatting." >>> "I like to <bare infinitive>." definitely sounds American to me. Yes again. SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ >>On further reflection: "I like to X" is almost synonymous, for me and I >>believe for other UK speakers, with "I prefer to X", or "I choose to X". I can [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > >Yes again. "I like trucking, I like trucking, I like trucking and I like to truck. I like trucking, I like trucking, If you don't like trucking, tough luck." Shows it can exist in BrE, although obviously it's been chosen to make the verse work. SignatureOn-line canal route planner: http://www.canalplan.org.uk (Waterways World site of the month, April 2001) My Reply-To address *is* valid, though likely to die soon >>>>> "I like to <bare infinitive>." definitely sounds American to me. >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >I like trucking, I like trucking, >If you don't like trucking, tough luck." Yabbut - to me "trucking" is American as well. On the other hand, if this is a Bowdlerised version, all bets are off. Katy K. Edgcombe <ke10@cus.cam.ac.uk> had it: > >>>>> "I like to <bare infinitive>." definitely sounds American to me. > >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > On the other hand, if this is a Bowdlerised version, all bets are off. It's exactly what I thought of as well, but I had the good taste not to bring it up. I's not Bowdlerised - it was written exactly as reproduced. But it is intended to be crude. It was a song at the end of a "Not The Nine O'Clock News". Rowan Atkinson was (and probably remains) obsessed by motor vehicles. He took an HGV licence, just for fun - I presume that's where the idea came from, and the video showed him driving. There were hedgehog stickers on the side of the cab showing the current road-kill total. The memory kinda lingers. SignatureDavid ===== K. Edgcombe <ke10@cus.cam.ac.uk> had it: > >>>>> "I like to <bare infinitive>." definitely sounds American to me. > >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > On the other hand, if this is a Bowdlerised version, all bets are off. It's not Bowdlerised - it was written exactly as above. And I have to say it's exactly what I thought of first as well, but I had the good taste not to report it. It's intended to be crude though - it's a song from the end of a "Not The Nine O'Clock News". Rowan Atkinson had (has?) an obsession with motor vehicles and had obtained an HGV licence for fun. The video shows him driving the lorry, sticking hedgehog symbols on the side of the cab to indicate the road-kill total. The memory kinda lingers. SignatureDavid ===== the Omrud <usenet.omrud@gmail.com> had it: > K. Edgcombe <ke10@cus.cam.ac.uk> had it: > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > The memory kinda lingers. Damn. My PC reset (I think it's overheating) and I thought my words of wisdom had not been sent, so I typed them in again. SignatureDavid ===== > "I like to walk to the shops rather than drive, for the sake of the > planet." > > "I like Xing" is the only option for simple enjoyment of the > activity. Hold on, you can't have it both ways. Isn't Xing what car drivers do to a Ped who is walking to the shops? SignaturePeter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org Please note the changed e-mail and web addresses. The domain eepjm.newcastle.edu.au no longer exists, and I can no longer receive mail at my newcastle.edu.au addresses. The optusnet address could disappear at any time. >>When used as noun, what's the difference between swimming and going >>swimming in this case: I enjoy swimming; I enjoy going swimming? [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > is the preference for native speakers of Chinese who speak English, > though. Sorry. I can't agree with you. I find "I enjoy going swimming/fishing" quite normal. As to the difference, if any, I would say it is mainly a question of emphasis: if you're thinking mainly about the actual activity of swimming/fishing, then "I enjoy/like swimming" is probably what you'd say. If you are thinking about the whole experience: packing up your stuff, going there (possibly in a group), sunbathing, eating and all the other things you may do on such an occasion, then you'd plump for "I enjoy/like going...", but really I doubt whether most speakers give it much thought and would be likely to come out with either quite randomly. SignatureRob Bannister > "I enjoy swimming", not the other one, Whoops! My mistake: I had missed the clearly wrong "I enjoy to swim", when I wrote that I disagreed. SignatureRob Bannister > When used as noun, what's the difference between swimming and going > swimming in this case: I enjoy swimming; I enjoy going swimming? > Or I enjoy go fishing; I enjoy going fishing? "Swimming" or "fishing" is the direct act; "going swimming" or "going fishing" is the process that includes the direct act. The difference may be vanishingly small or of some consequence. Most people, I'd imagine, would see little difference between "swimming" and "going swimming"; but many would perhaps see some difference between "fishing" and "going fishing", in that the latter tends to include a host of ancillary quasi-rituals, from beer-drinking to sitting around a campfile of an evening. (The inclusion is conceptual: that is, a given fishing expedition may include none of these things, but they are more or less associated with the *concept* "going fishing".) |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.