How to use Play, Do and Go

'Do yoga? Play yoga? Go yoga?'

We use the verbs play, do and go with sports and activities. Here is the information you need to know to use them correctly:

play

Play is used with ball sports or competitive games where we play against another person:

'How often do you play tennis?' - tennis is a ball sport.
'I play poker with my friends on Friday night.' - poker is a competitive game. We play to win.
'I don't like playing computer games.' - again, computer games are competitive so we use play.

do

Do is used for a recreational activity or a non-team sport that does not use a ball:

'I heard that you do karate.' - karate is a non-team activity.
'I do crossword puzzles in my free time.' - crossword puzzles are not competitive.

go

Go is used with activities that end -ing. We go somewhere to do something:

'I'm going fishing on Sunday.'
'Are you going skiing this winter?'
'She said she was going swimming.'

Now choose the correct verb to complete each sentence:

Learn Football English

• Do you want to ___ hiking with me?
  
  play
  go
  do
  
  
• Have you ever ___ ice-hockey?
  
  done
  played
  gone
  
  
• I find ___ yoga to be very relaxing.
  
  going
  playing
  doing
  
  
• They ___ sailing yesterday.
  
  did
  played
  went
  
  
• ___ chess is a good mental excercise.
  
  Going
  Playing
  Doing
  
  
• She ___ aerobics at the gym.
  
  does
  plays
  goes
  
  
• I ___ athletics at school.
  
  did
  played
  went