Hobbies and sport

To talk about free time in English, we use ⟦play⟧, ⟦go⟧ and ⟦do⟧ with different activities, and verbs like ⟦enjoy⟧, ⟦love⟧ and ⟦hate⟧ to say what we like. ⟦I play football, I go swimming and I do karate. I enjoy reading.⟧

Key facts

  • ⟦play⟧ + ball games, games and instruments: ⟦play tennis⟧, ⟦play chess⟧, ⟦play the guitar⟧.
  • ⟦go⟧ + activities ending in ⟦-ing⟧: ⟦go swimming⟧, ⟦go cycling⟧, ⟦go camping⟧.
  • ⟦do⟧ + martial arts and some individual activities: ⟦do karate⟧, ⟦do yoga⟧, ⟦do gymnastics⟧.
  • After ⟦enjoy⟧, ⟦don't mind⟧, ⟦can't stand⟧ and after prepositions (⟦good at⟧, ⟦interested in⟧, ⟦keen on⟧) use ⟦-ing⟧: ⟦I enjoy painting.⟧ ⟦She is good at drawing.⟧
  • Short answers: ⟦Do you like swimming? Yes, I do.⟧ ⟦Can you ski? No, I can't.⟧ How often: ⟦twice a week⟧, ⟦every Saturday⟧.

Worked examples

Example 1

Complete: ⟦She ___ judo after school.⟧

  1. Judo is a martial art, so we use ⟦do⟧.
  2. With ⟦she⟧: ⟦She does judo after school.⟧

Answer: ⟦does⟧

Example 2

Complete: ⟦Leo is good at ___ (draw).⟧

  1. ⟦at⟧ is a preposition, so the verb takes ⟦-ing⟧.
  2. ⟦Leo is good at drawing.⟧

Answer: ⟦drawing⟧

Example 3

Reply: ⟦Does your sister play the piano?⟧

  1. The question uses ⟦does⟧.
  2. The short answer uses it too: ⟦Yes, she does.⟧ or ⟦No, she doesn't.⟧

Answer: ⟦Yes, she does.⟧