Here is a useful list to help you remember when to use go, when to use go to, and when to use go to the.
Often English learners feel more comfortable with rules to memorize [and we have lots of them in English!], but sometimes there is no rule. There is no rule why go is sometimes followed by to or to the. That’s just the way it is!
1. go …
*No ‘to,’ no ‘the’
go home
go downtown
go there
go away
I like going downtown Toronto, but I don’t like driving there.
We went to Bermuda on vacation last year! We go there every year.
You’re really annoying me. Go away!
2. go + gerund
*No ‘to’:
go shopping
go dancing
go sightseeing
go jogging
go hiking
go skiing
go running
go bowling
go camping
I love to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains.
My friends and I like going shopping after school.
We’re going hiking this weekend. Do you want to come?
3. go to…
*NO ‘the’
go to work
go to school
go to jail
go to bed
a country, a city
We went to Bermuda on vacation last year!
someone’s house
Let’s go to your parent’s house for dinner tonight.
Do you have to go to work tomorrow or do you have the day off?
4. go to the…
go to the movies
go to the bank
go to the post office
go to the hospital
go to the airport
go to the train station
go to the doctor
go to the dentist
We went to the movies last night. We saw ‘Iron Man 2.’
I’m going to the hospital this afternoon to visit my grandmother.
I have to go to the airport to pick up my friend. She’s visiting us for the next couple of weeks.
thanks so much…
it's very helpful for me and other people as a second languages you know.
I'll try to explore all of your lessons and taking my knowledge in english.
thnks again and hope your web gets some more useful from several people
THANK VERY MUCH. DO YOU KNOW My native speak is Spanish and I have a lot problem to understand English. But
I try TO KEEP UP MY ENGLISH EVERYDAY NOW I have been living in Canada for 22 month. I never went to school when I was children but I know I can.only I need to said thank
I like this list. I teach English in Mexico, and students sometimes get very confused about when to use go + gerund, go + infinitive, etc. This list and your site should help them. Thanks!
Hello :) I would like to know when do you go with an adjective? for example ,, go wild,, ? and also whats the difference when I put get instead of go …
That’s a very good question, Gabriela! I hadn’t thought about it before. I’ve done a bit of research & here are some ideas:
– ‘go’ is not usually used with emotions
– ‘go + adjective’ expressions are usually idioms: go crazy, go nuts, go mad,
– ‘go’ is used with irreversible states: go blind, go deaf,
‘Get’ is not used in any of the above situations.
Does that help?
Here are some notes I found about ‘get’ + emotions:
Get (become) or Be + emotion (angry, sad, embarrassed, scared)
Be (but not get) + emotion (surprised, relieved, pained, overjoyed)
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thats interesting :) and yes , It helped me :) I will think about it and I hope I will get used to it :)
Teacher
Is it correct? I’m going to bed very soon or I’m going to bed earlier?
Thank you so much
Hi, Bianca!
“I’m going to bed very soon” is correct.
“I’m going to bed earlier” is not a correct sentence by itself because of the comparative ‘earlier.’
You can say,
“I went to bed earlier last night” [earlier than the night before.]
or
“I’m going to bed earlier tonight” [earlier than last night]
You can also say,
“I’m going to bed early (tonight).”
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hi, nice tips we find here, but here it goes a question of mine: When i have a day of week and play it inversion how does it work? for example:
1 – I have a birthday party to go tomorrow;
2 – I have to go to a birthday party tomorrow;
Is the number one wrong? why? It sounds weird….
Hi, Daniel!
Here is a better way to write your comment:
“Hi! Nice tips! I have a question. How do I use ‘go’ with a time expression like ‘tomorrow’?
1. I have a birthday party to go tomorrow.
2. I have to go to a birthday party tomorrow.
Is number one wrong? Why? It sounds weird.
Thanks!”
This is a great question! I didn’t think about time expressions when I wrote this post. Thank you for reminding me. Sentence #1 is correct, but you are missing a word:
“I have a birthday part to go TO tomorrow.”
This is not considered ‘inversion.’
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Hi teacher Melanie.
I’m Cyril and I’m from the Philippines. I have been teaching ESL to Koreans for nearly 5 years and I confess, I, myself got confused sometimes. It’s a good thing that I have seen your video on Youtube. Then, I went over your site and to my surprise I have found some topics related to what I am teaching. What’s more, all are in details.
Thank you so much. Now, I know how to improve my teaching. Would you mind if I am going to use your site as a reference for my students? I would be glad to recommend it to my students if you want to.
Again, thank you and more power.
Cyril
Hi, Cyril!
I am so thrilled to hear that my website has helped you with your teaching and has made English a little less confusing! I am happy I can help! You are more than welcome to use this site as a reference for your students.
All the best,
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Would you mind telling me ? about ´´GO FOR´´
Hi, Jersson,
‘Go for’ is a phrasal verb and has many different meanings:
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/go-for
In the examples in the article above, the preposition or the gerund doesn’t change the meaning of the verb ‘go.’
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Hi Melanie
Is it correct to say: I’m going walking, I’m going drinking? I need to know about using let’s, let’s drinking or let’s go drinking, or let’s go drink… let’s go to eat, let’s eat? i know… I’m so confused, please help
Hi, Jo!
English is a confusing language!
Instead of saying “I’m going walking/drinking” or “Let’s go walking/drinking” it’s better to say:
“I’m going for a walk” and “I’m going out for a drink.”
“Let go for a walk” and “Let’s go have a drink” or “Let’s go for a drink.”
“Let’s go eat” and “Let’s eat” are both correct [“let’s go to eat” is not correct].
Using ‘let’s go’ is different from using ‘go.’
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Thank you so much!
I’ve been correcting student written productions for hours and I’m starting to doubt the use of the verb go. A student wrote: She went in the garden. It sounds weird to me. Can you explain this so I can explain the different uses to my students. Much thanks.
Hi, Karine!
I don’t think it’s the verb ‘go’ that’s the problem here, it’s finding the correct collocation with ‘garden.’ I think in this case you need to say what the person is doing in the garden:
“She’s worked in the garden.”
“She went for a walk in the garden.”
“She looked at the garden.”
“She went to look at the garden.”
“She was in the garden.”
“She wandered around the garden.”
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