My grandson, he always says, “Let’s talk about sports play go do.” I tell him, “Boy, what’s that you’re talking about?” He says it’s English. Well, I say, English is English, what’s this play go do stuff?
He tells me it’s about when you talk about sports, like, you know, football and all that. Sometimes you say “play,” sometimes you say “do,” and sometimes you say “go.” Lord have mercy, I told him, back in my day we just played. We didn’t worry about no “play go do.” But he’s a good boy, always trying to teach his old grandma something new.
He says play, you use that with them games where you got a whole bunch of folks on one side and a whole bunch on the other. You know, like when they’re all running around chasing a ball, kicking it or throwing it. Football, basketball, that kind of thing. He says they call them “team sports.” And also that ball games, you say play. Play baseball, play volleyball. My grandson, he plays baseball.
Then he says do, that’s for when one person is doing something. Like, you know, when someone runs real fast or when they jump, but not team sports, and not a ball. Or when they do that karate stuff, kicking and chopping. He says you “do” that. “Do karate,” he says. “Do yoga.” Well, I reckon that makes a little sense. One person doing their own thing, that’s “do.” You do this, you do that. You do your exercise.
And then there’s go. Now this one, he says, is for when the word ends with “ing.” Like swimming, or running, or fishing. You “go swimming,” you “go running,” you “go fishing.” Oh boy, my head is spinning now.
He told me there are some exceptions, well, of course there are. Nothing’s ever simple, is it? But for most, he said to try to remember these things.
- Play for team sports, you know, with a ball.
- Do for one person doing something, no team, no ball.
- Go for that “ing” thing, swimming, running, all that.
He told me about recreational activities, now this one is a bit tricky, that is when you do all those other sports that do not use a ball. Like aerobics, athletics, gymnastics, judo. You “do” all of these. I do not know what is judo, but I guess it is like karate, so I will say do judo.
You know, back in my day, we just played. We played outside, we ran around, we climbed trees. We didn’t have all these fancy words for it. We just did it. We played tag, we played hide-and-seek, we played in the dirt. We had fun, that’s what mattered.
But I guess times are changing. These kids today, they got all these different sports, all these different rules. And they got all these different words for it, too. Sports play go do. It’s a lot to keep up with, I tell ya.
But I try to learn, for my grandson’s sake. He’s a good boy, always trying to teach me something new. And I love him for it. Even if I don’t always understand what he’s talking about.
So, play for them team sports with a ball, do for one person doing their own thing, and go for them “ing” words. Got it. I think. Maybe.
Well, I reckon I better go now. I got chores to do. And you know what they say about chores, you don’t “play” chores, you don’t “go” chores, you “do” chores. Ain’t that the truth.
I guess that is all for sports, but I am an old lady, I do not know much about sports. These kids today play a lot of sports. In my days we only run and play with balls. I do not understand why you need to do yoga or do judo, but I guess each to their own. I mean, I am not going to do judo, that sounds difficult, but maybe you can try. My grandson plays baseball, and he is very good at it, he plays it everyday. I think that is a good sport, they run, they play with a ball, it is a good sport. But this do judo, I do not know, you tell me if you do judo, or do yoga, or do any of those other sports. I guess I am too old for that now. I only do walking, or maybe I should say I go walking. It is all too difficult.
