UNIT 4 LESSON 02: DO, PLAY OR GO?

Let’s talk about sports. Do, play or go?

🏀 PLAY, DO OR GO?

In English, we use different verbs with different sports and activities.

Don’t worry! There are some useful patterns that can help you remember.

🏀 PLAY

We usually use play with ball sports, games and competitive team sports.

🇬🇧 English	🇪🇸 Español
play football	jugar al fútbol
play basketball	jugar al baloncesto
play tennis	jugar al tenis
play volleyball	jugar al voleibol
play baseball	jugar al béisbol
play hockey	jugar al hockey
play golf	jugar al golf

I play football with my friends.

My sister plays tennis on Saturday.

🥋 DO

We often use do with individual sports, exercises, martial arts and activities.

🇬🇧 English	🇪🇸 Español
do gymnastics	hacer gimnasia
do karate	hacer karate
do athletics	hacer atletismo
do exercise	hacer ejercicio
do yoga	hacer yoga

I do karate twice a week.

She does gymnastics at school.

We do exercise every day.

⭐ Remember!

With he / she / it, do becomes does:

I do karate.

She does karate.

🏊 GO

We often use go + activity-ing with activities such as swimming, cycling and running.

🇬🇧 English	🇪🇸 Español
go swimming	ir a nadar
go cycling	ir en bicicleta
go running	ir a correr
go skiing	ir a esquiar
go skating	ir a patinar
go surfing	ir a hacer surf
go climbing	ir a escalar

I go swimming on Wednesdays.

We go cycling at the weekend.

He goes running in the park.

⭐ Remember!

With he / she / it, go becomes goes:

I go swimming.

She goes swimming.

🧠 THE EASY TRICK

Think about these three groups:

🏀 PLAY + sport

play football
play basketball
play tennis

🥋 DO + activity

do karate
do gymnastics
do exercise

🏊 GO + activity-ing

go swimming
go cycling
go running

💡 PLAY → DO → GO + -ING

This is a useful guide, but remember that English has some exceptions and special expressions. For now, these are the most useful combinations for your A2 level.

🎯 CHOOSE THE RIGHT VERB

Can you complete the sentences?

1. I ______ football with my friends.
2. She ______ swimming every Saturday.
3. We ______ karate at school.
4. My brother ______ basketball.
5. They ______ cycling in the park.
6. I ______ gymnastics.
7. Tom ______ tennis on Sunday.
8. Lucy ______ running in the morning.

✅ Answers

1. play
2. goes
3. do
4. plays
5. go
6. do
7. plays
8. goes

🔄 WHAT DO YOU DO?

We can use these verbs to talk about our weekly activities.

On Monday, I play basketball.

On Wednesday, I go swimming.

On Friday, I do karate.

At the weekend, I go cycling with my family.

💬 Ask a friend!

What sport do you play?

What activities do you do?

When do you go swimming?

Do you play football?

Do you do karate?

Do you go cycling?

👧 A BUSY WEEK FOR EMMA

Read about Emma’s sports week.

Hi! I’m Emma and I love being active. On Monday, I play basketball with my friends after school. On Tuesday, I do gymnastics.

On Wednesday, I go swimming with my sister. We usually swim for an hour. On Thursday, I don’t do any sport because I have a lot of homework.

On Friday, I play tennis with my dad. At the weekend, we go cycling in the countryside.

My favourite activity is swimming, but I enjoy all my sports!

🔎 Let’s check!

1. What does Emma do on Monday?
2. When does she do gymnastics?
3. Who does she go swimming with?
4. Why doesn’t she do sport on Thursday?
5. Who does she play tennis with?
6. What does she do at the weekend?
7. What is her favourite activity?
8. Does Emma like sport?

🚦 PLAY, DO OR GO?

Let’s practise with some more examples.

Activity	Correct expression
football	play football
basketball	play basketball
tennis	play tennis
karate	do karate
gymnastics	do gymnastics
exercise	do exercise
swimming	go swimming
cycling	go cycling
running	go running
skiing	go skiing

🏆 Challenge yourself!

Complete the sentences:

I __________ football.

I __________ swimming.

I __________ karate.

My friend __________ basketball.

My sister __________ cycling.

We __________ gymnastics.

🏅 MY SPORTS WEEK

Now create your own sports week!

Choose different activities for different days.

Day	Activity
Monday	__________
Tuesday	__________
Wednesday	__________
Thursday	__________
Friday	__________
Weekend	__________

Now write sentences:

On Monday, I play __________.

On Wednesday, I go __________.

On Friday, I do __________.

🏆 A2 CHALLENGE

Write 6–8 sentences about your sports week.

Try to use:

• play at least twice.
• do at least once.
• go + -ing at least twice.
• different sports and activities.
• one frequency expression.

For example:

On Monday, I play football with my friends. On Tuesday, I do karate. I usually go swimming on Wednesday. On Friday, I play basketball at school. At the weekend, I go cycling with my family. I love sport because it is fun!

🎮 GAMES — DO, PLAY OR GO

Practise the three verbs!

• 🏀 Play, Do or Go? — Choose the correct verb.
• 🥋 Sports and activities — Match activities with play, do or go.
• 🚦 Choose the right verb — Complete sentences with the correct form.

Fichas descargables

📝 Resumen

En esta lección de inglés A2 aprenderás a utilizar correctamente play, do y go para hablar de deportes y actividades. Descubrirás que normalmente usamos play con muchos deportes de pelota, do con actividades como karate, gimnasia o ejercicio, y go + -ing con actividades como swimming, cycling o running. También practicarás las formas does y goes y aplicarás estas estructuras para hablar de tu propia semana deportiva.