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HUBLOT Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

"go + verb" / "go to + verb" / "go and + verb"

Is it true that "go + verb" is American English? Do British English speakers say "go to + verb" or "go and + verb" instead?

  

Top answer

I can't speak for speakers of BrE, but go + verb and go + and verb are common in AmE. I can think of no natural or even grammatical examples of go to + verb.

— RandomGuy

  • I can't speak for speakers of BrE, but go + verb and go + and verb are common in AmE.
  • I can think of no natural or even grammatical examples of go to + verb.
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9 Answers
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I can't speak for speakers of BrE, but go + verb and go + and verb are common in AmE. I can think of no natural or even grammatical examples of go to + verb.
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I went to knock his hat off, but he moved just before I could.
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enoonI went to knock his hat off, but he moved just before I could.
There we are.
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'Go get some milk' is unnatural in British English. In the request/command, we'd use 'Go and get some milk', but in narrative it would be: 'I am going (out) to get some milk', 'He went to get some milk'.

Note the difference between 'He went to get some milk' and 'He went and got some milk'. In the second, he definitely got some milk. He didn't necessarily get any in t
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fivejedjon In the request/command, we'd use 'Go and get some milk', but in narrative it would be: 'I am going (out) to get some milk', 'He went to get some milk'.
Is it so because go, or any other verb, for that matter; can't be followed directly by a verb? ..I'm familiar with constructs of the form go + adj., such as 'go mad', 'went greedy', but
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Surfers it so because go, or any other verb, for that matter; can't be followed directly by a verb?
Yes. There are verbs that can be followed by a bare infinitive - the modals, see, watch, hear, feel, and, in certain contexts make, let and help spring to mind - but go is not one of them in BrE.
Surferthe Br
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Hi

On a side note, the King James Bible has...

- Water ye the sheep, and go and feed them.

So, yes, the 'and' after 'go' is definitely UK English

(We go by the book...)

Dave
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dave_anonWe go by the book...
You mean the Book.
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Hi

Yes, and also the King James Bible, 1611, long predates the formation of the UK, so it's not exactly UK English

Apart from that, I think I was right...

Dave
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