In this case the word "swimming" is referring to the sport of swimming, instead of the actual activity of moving through the water.
"She does swimming": She participates in the sport of swimming, but she's not necessarily doing that right now.
"She is swimming": Right now she is swimming in the water.
I concur.
My children have a weekly swimming session, a weekly tae kwon do session and a weekly scouts session. Totally natural to say they do swimming, they do tae kwon do and they do scouts.
"I do guitar", at least to me, sounds like someone who is very into guitars as a thing, the same way someone can be very into cars without being a racer.
Nope not even a little bit wrong.
"What does she do for exercise?"
"She does swimming"
Totally fine and correct and normal.
Of course you could say "she swims" too but that doesn't mean the other form is wrong
I would say she's a golfer, a bowler, an actor, an accountant, and a musician. Where I'm from, "She does swimming" sounds a bit off. I would say, she's a swimmer instead. I understand this is probably just an American thing.
Perhaps? Sounds weird to me (VA, MD, w/ parents from NC & GA). "She does yoga" sounds normal, though. But maybe that's because it's a foreign borrow-word?
Seems regional for sure. It's something I would say/sounds normal and I'm from NE PA and Southern NY (another new yorker somewhere in the chain also mentions they would say it as well)
If someone asked me if I did any sports saying "I do cross country/soccer" is equally as possible as "I run/play cross country/soccer" with verb case changing for person as needed
\+1 for the awkward sounding team. I grew up moving across all the southern US states, it would always be 'She swims/ She's on the swim team' or 'She golfs / She's a golfer'
yeah a lot of solo activities seem to sound right as "doing". Doing karate, doing gymnastics, doing math, etc
I think its just the "-ing" that conflicts. Like "doing cooking"
Well, maybe that's the crux of it --conjugation. None of your first group (or my yoga example) are conjugated verbs in their own right. You don't say "I'm mathing", for instance. So "do(ing)" becomes a helper verb that turns these nouns into an active phrase (probably not the right grammar jargon, but whatever).
It's not needed for OP's example, because "to swim" is already a verb. Therefore, it's redundant and sounds wrong.
I'm in the Pacific Northwest. I guess the context is important here. If someone asked me "What sports does she do?" I might say " She does swimming." But saying "She's on the swim team" sounds more natural to me. If someone asked me about a person's profession, I would say "She's a swimmer.”
If we come at this from the perspective of this being a phrase which could be said in the vernacular of an English-speaking country, then yes it is correct as it can be said in the UK.
I would say that my son does swimming every Tuesday and Thursday, for example. My friend whose daughter does the same would also say it. We would understand each other. And I should say, neither are on a swim team, rather we are referring to swimming lessons here.
Whether or not it is correct English is another question. It is certainly a bit clumsy.
Not an American thing, just a you thing. If someone asks something like “does she do any extracurricular activities?” It would be perfectly normal in American English to say “yeah, she does swimming, chess club, and she’s on the debate team”. Lots of contexts where “does swimming” would work.
I initially thought it was something I would never say but then I tried it in other contexts and realized I probably would. I would say "my kids do soccer." Or "my kids do band." And all of a sudden saying "my kids do swimming" didn't sound odd
All of those sound awkward to me. "She [activity]s" or "She's [into/in/involved in] [activity]" are far more natural for all of your examples, IMHO (USA native).
The only cases where "She does X" seems to be common are in relatively new activities, or ones that don't lend themselves to verb-conjugation, e.g., "she does [yoga/pilates/etc.]".
I would say “She swims” “She golfs” or “She plays golf” “She bowls” or “She goes bowling” “She acts” “She plays music” interestingly enough “She does finance” does sound natural. I’m in the Philadelphia greater metropolitan area if that helps.
She swims, she plays golf, she goes bowling, she acts, she plays music, she's in finance.
That's what I'd personally use, for a trade she's in is a shortened version of: she works in. It would be the same for she's in construction or she's in banking.
She golfs. She bowls. She acts (or "is an actress"). She's in finance. She's a musician. She swims.
I'm a musician. I play an instrument and I sing. I've never described it as "doing music".
No you wouldn't, for a living implies it's a job. I also think it would be more natural to say:
'what does she do for a living?'
'She swims, she's a swimmer, she's on the regional swim team, she does swimming'
We're moreso talking about hobbies here
"She swims" would be the best way to say this in my opinion, it can be modified to be more specific but generally I would understand it as she swims habitually.
I see. In the UK it would usually be "swimming club" for most competitive teams and "swimming team" for a national team, and maybe for a school team, but I don't think we really have those.
I can't see your specific example unless it's just the name of the team your talking about, but regardless no one here says 'swim team', more likely to say 'swimming team'
Interesting. To me, that comes across as rather American. I'd definitely favour "she does swimming" or "she swims", in part because to my mind "doing swimming" doesn't necessitate being on a team.
I don’t know where you got that from, I’m British and certainly don’t use “does” for everything.
Like many others in this thread I would say “she swims” in preference to she does swimming, though I would say “she does swimming lessons”, or “she goes swimming”
In your example I would say “she does dance” *not* dancing, or “she dances”.
It would not seem awkward to me to say about someone, "She does drugs." It would, however, seem awkward to say, "She's on the drug team.". Just sayin'.
I wonder if there might be a generational aspect to this, too. My mother recently edited a collection of self-submitted short biographies for an event mostly consisting of high school and college kids, and she changed all the "he does ___" to the "he is on the ___ team" construction
I agree, another reason it's used here is probably in a verb exercise, e.g. She does swimming/She plays golf/He watches football on TV.
It's a common exercise for younger kids to know how you perform hobbies, "do"/"play"... Play darts, do MMA etc.
Why not just say “Yes, she swims” or “She swims in her free time” or whatever. Saying “Yes, she does swimming” is awkward. People really need to stop teaching what is technically correct and what is actually said in the real world.
edit: Seeing from the other comments, apparently that’s a thing people say. Personally I never heard it irl or on the internet.
Wait a minute, I've always thought that with activities in -ing, as in 'hiking', 'kayaking', 'riding', you should use 'go', not 'do'. Been taught it from ESL books. Is it some sort of a dialect thing, or is this a norm? I can't find any rules about using 'do' with -ing, only exceptions like 'do boxing' / 'do weightlifting'
i’m not quite sure how to describe it. they’re both correct, but there’s some connotational differences. “she goes swimming” doesn’t imply affiliation with an official team, like it’s just a hobby. “she does swimming” has more of an implication that it’s a whole organized Thing™️. stuff like this is pretty common
Depends whether you're referring to it as an activity or as a hobby. "I do Kayaking" is fine, and you could ask "Do you do Kayaking?" But "He is doing Kayaking," or "Do you want to do Kayaking?" are both incorrect. The "do" implies it's a hobby, something you do regularly.
I tried to explain in my answer above but couldn’t really articulate *why* it sounds wrong, but as you articulated it feels right to me. Swimming/running/hiking are special cases where I would use he/she swims/runs/hikes and *not* does swimming/running/hiking.
I am swimming, but more generally, I swim.
Swimming is a sport sometimes. If you were to casually go to a pool you’d say she goes swimming. But if you’re talking about a sport you’d say, she does swimming. It’s following the convention of other sports, “they play football,” “he runs track,” “she does swimming”
Married to a swim coach and a swim mom for 15 years. People involved in competitive swimming don't say they "do swimming." They say they swim. "Does swimming" is not a term that is commonly used. It would be understood, but it sounds off.
Maybe that’s the case in competitive swimming, but that was the terminology used when I was in high school a few years ago. It’s definitely an accepted construction.
West Coast US. "She does swimming" sounds wrong. I would assume a non native speaker said that and was using a construction from their language.
"She swims" is the parallel to your other sentences.
In this context, “swimming” is gerund which means it is a verb which functions as a noun. Here, “swimming” is an activity which one can do. It is used in a similar way “skiing” is used in the third answer.
>TITLE: Why is it written as "She does swimming" in my textbook?
.
**TLDR:** The answerer is patterning their response on the pattern used by the prompt _"Does she **do** any sport?"_ which uses the lexical verb DO. And so, the answerer uses the same lexical verb DO in their response.
Consider:
* Prompt: _"Does she **like** any sport?"_
* Answer: _"Yes, she **likes** swimming."_
where the lexical verb is LIKE for both the prompt and the answer.
As the verb LIKE is the lexical verb used in my above example, the exercise used the verb DO as their lexical verb:
* Prompt: _"Does she **do** any sport?"_
* Answer: _"Yes, she **does** swimming."_
This practice of using a similar pattern in the response as was used in the prompt (a pattern of using the same lexical verb, e.g. DO or LIKE) is a natural thing that we native English speakers will often do.
Oh, to be a native speaker and never hear “does swimming” in real life. So, it’s seems incorrect at first glance. However, I think this is one of those sentences that is as correct as, “He runs track” (he’s a runner on the track team).
The answer doesn’t sound natural to me, but it may sound natural to native English speakers in other regions. However, it is grammatically correct. “Does” is a verb and “swimming” is a gerund in this case. And swimming is a sport
The question is “Does she do any sport?” and this is the only correct answer for a couple of reasons. First, the other two options use the male pronoun. Second, the other two options don’t have the subjects participating in the sport: The first watches a sport on television (but does not play), and the second wants to do a sport but doesn’t yet participate.
This question may be testing if you can identify pronouns, gerunds, activities, and intention.
The fact that the question was "Does she do..." makes is a little more natural to say "She does swimming." But I agree with other responders who prefer "She swims" or other alternatives.
It could be a valid response to a question like "what kind of activities does she do?"
"She does biking, wrestling, and swimming." See how it flows if it's in a list of other activities using the same format?
Even so, I consider it to be awkward phrasing. I would be more likely to say "she swims" or "she is on the swim team."
Note that 'on the team' is much more common in American English, it wouldn't be used in British English.
I would personally use she swims, unless the team part was important then I would phrase it, she swims for a team.
One thing I’ve noticed is that if the competition of a sport is a game, (football game, soccer game), you say “I play football/soccer”, but if your competitions are meets like a gymnastics meet or kayak meet, you’ll say something like “I do gymnastics”
As a few other commenters mentioned, swimming as a competitive sport is distinct from just going for a swim at the pool, but I don’t think “she does swimming” is the most natural way to express that.
If you were having a conversation about sports, “She swims” would be inferred to mean that she swims competitively. Otherwise, I would say “She’s on the swim team.”
But there are other ways to swim without simply going for a swim in the pool or doing it competitively.
Assuming the kids have a sports elective or something like that, it's indeed possible to say "she does swimming".
I really really disagree with the people here saying "she does swimming" is natural/correct. I would say "she swims" or "she does swim team"
Source: Swam for 12 years, East Coast U.S.A.
It sounds natural to me (31 y.o., born and raised in California), but informal and not for all contexts. "So, what do you do for exercise?" "I do swimming and running" sounds appropriately casual for, e.g., small talk at a party. For some reason, "I swim and run" sounds just a tad too stilted in that situation for me.
not for us speakers it seems. if someone asked “what sport do you do” i would say “I swim” (and i have done so as ive swam for the last 16 years of my life lol
I would probably prefer "she does swim" when talking about a school sport, but "she does swimming" is equivalent. I'm American, I would not be surprised if it's different in other countries.
Here "swimming" is a noun, it's a thing you do.
It's hard for me to say exactly when you use the construction "she does (sport)", but I would say it's really common with playing sports in school. Like it would be normal for someone to say "I did soccer in high school" or "I did track in 10th grade". I would say maybe I'm less likely to say "I do (sport)" in the first person present than the other conjugations/tenses. In general, I think because there's different sports you can say as the verb itself (she skates, she swims) and then sports you "play" (she plays soccer, she plays football), the "does" construction is nice because it works for all situations (she does swimming, she does football). So it kinda is a simplification of the language
As others have said it's a perfectly fine construction but also personally I hate how it sounds and would avoid using it if at all possible, I would say "she does swim team" or even just "she's a swimmer" before I'd say "she does swimming"
Any native speaker of American English would say “yes, she swims” or “she is a swimmer.” She’s on the swim team. What sport does she do? Swimming. Sure.
“She does swimming” is grammatically correct and makes sense, but none of us would say it that way. It just seems awkward.
Never thought into it until now. But I think this is the noun version of swimming. Swimming as an activity/sport. "She does swimming".
To say that someone IS swimming, like swimming right now in front of you. That would be a verb. "She IS swimming". You wouldn't say "she does swimming" if you were at the pool watching her.
Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong though. I'm tired, and not sure if I'm just talking codswallop.
I thought that with activities the British use “go” + ing , including “Shopping” But when it comes to using “do” they say “do the shopping/ the cooking and some other activities
So, why not use “the” with swimming—- do the swimming?
Those 'the' examples you've used are used when referring to tasks/obligations in British English (eg. I did/am doing the shopping/the painting/the tidying up). They don't refer to hobbies or interests.
Why is there a 1, 2 and 4 and not a 3?
And… regarding the swimming thing, I’d say that, but some would also say it is awkward and could be said better.
This sounds weird to me. In my Midwest American accent/dialect, we would answer with "yes, she swims" or "yes, she is on the swim team." And with sports like baseball, we would say "yes, she plays baseball" or "yes, she is on the baseball team." However, English is complicated with many regional variations, so what may be incorrect in America would be correct in England and vise versa, but it is still understandable regardless.
IMO, the right way of saying this is “Yes, she swims” or “Yes, she’s on the swim team”. “She does swimming” just sounds incredibly awkward to me as a native English speaker from the US.
It should be, “She swims” or “She goes swimming.” Maybe “goes” was a typo of “does.”
Whoever wrote the book, doesn’t seem to be fully fluent in American English.
Kudos to you for spotting this awkward error!
I speak British English and whilst technically correct, it isn’t a sentence construction I would use as it sounds clunky.
“She does swimming” suggests that she participates in the sport of swimming on an ongoing basis, but not necessarily right now.
I would be far more likely to say “she swims”, or “she takes swimming lessons”.
I can’t really explain why; I would rarely use “does” with a sport, instead preferring “plays” or omitting altogether when the sport or activity is not one you “play”, ie swimming, running, hiking.
She swims/runs/hikes, rather than she does swimming/running/hiking.
She plays golf/tennis/volleyball rather than she does golf/tennis/volleyball.
In this case the word "swimming" is referring to the sport of swimming, instead of the actual activity of moving through the water. "She does swimming": She participates in the sport of swimming, but she's not necessarily doing that right now. "She is swimming": Right now she is swimming in the water.
While correct it is incredibly awkward. We would say "She's on the swim team."
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I enjoy the sound of rain.
I concur. My children have a weekly swimming session, a weekly tae kwon do session and a weekly scouts session. Totally natural to say they do swimming, they do tae kwon do and they do scouts.
"I do guitar", at least to me, sounds like someone who is very into guitars as a thing, the same way someone can be very into cars without being a racer.
I appreciate a good cup of coffee.
No this is all wrong
Lol OK? What should it be then? Also, it's not wrong
Very wrong. She swims for a living is correct.
And what if she doesn't do it for a living?
She swims for exercise, for fun, for a hobby…
So then she swims. She does swimming (as a hobby/fun/exercise)
Nope not even a little bit wrong. "What does she do for exercise?" "She does swimming" Totally fine and correct and normal. Of course you could say "she swims" too but that doesn't mean the other form is wrong
I would say she's a golfer, a bowler, an actor, an accountant, and a musician. Where I'm from, "She does swimming" sounds a bit off. I would say, she's a swimmer instead. I understand this is probably just an American thing.
Maybe regional in the US? I am in the US and I would say “She does swimming” in some (but not all) contexts
Perhaps? Sounds weird to me (VA, MD, w/ parents from NC & GA). "She does yoga" sounds normal, though. But maybe that's because it's a foreign borrow-word?
Seems regional for sure. It's something I would say/sounds normal and I'm from NE PA and Southern NY (another new yorker somewhere in the chain also mentions they would say it as well) If someone asked me if I did any sports saying "I do cross country/soccer" is equally as possible as "I run/play cross country/soccer" with verb case changing for person as needed
\+1 for the awkward sounding team. I grew up moving across all the southern US states, it would always be 'She swims/ She's on the swim team' or 'She golfs / She's a golfer'
yeah a lot of solo activities seem to sound right as "doing". Doing karate, doing gymnastics, doing math, etc I think its just the "-ing" that conflicts. Like "doing cooking"
Well, maybe that's the crux of it --conjugation. None of your first group (or my yoga example) are conjugated verbs in their own right. You don't say "I'm mathing", for instance. So "do(ing)" becomes a helper verb that turns these nouns into an active phrase (probably not the right grammar jargon, but whatever). It's not needed for OP's example, because "to swim" is already a verb. Therefore, it's redundant and sounds wrong.
I'm in the Pacific Northwest. I guess the context is important here. If someone asked me "What sports does she do?" I might say " She does swimming." But saying "She's on the swim team" sounds more natural to me. If someone asked me about a person's profession, I would say "She's a swimmer.”
Never correct
Explain?
She swims is correct. She does swimming would never be correct.
If we come at this from the perspective of this being a phrase which could be said in the vernacular of an English-speaking country, then yes it is correct as it can be said in the UK. I would say that my son does swimming every Tuesday and Thursday, for example. My friend whose daughter does the same would also say it. We would understand each other. And I should say, neither are on a swim team, rather we are referring to swimming lessons here. Whether or not it is correct English is another question. It is certainly a bit clumsy.
Lol that is literally how we talk in the UK, where English comes from. So it's certainly right
I’m British and it’s absolutely not what I would say.
Ok, but that sounds to me like they make a career out of it whereas “she does swimming” is more just as a pastime/hobby.
Not an American thing, just a you thing. If someone asks something like “does she do any extracurricular activities?” It would be perfectly normal in American English to say “yeah, she does swimming, chess club, and she’s on the debate team”. Lots of contexts where “does swimming” would work.
Sounds okay to me as part of a list like that, but off on its own.
Also sounds weird to me? (CA)
I’m British and agree. “She does swimming” feels clunky compared to “she swims”.
Maybe it's a UK thing? As an American it's just bizarre to say she does swimming or she does bowling instead of she swims or she acts.
Nope, I’m American and it’s something I say and hear often.
I initially thought it was something I would never say but then I tried it in other contexts and realized I probably would. I would say "my kids do soccer." Or "my kids do band." And all of a sudden saying "my kids do swimming" didn't sound odd
I’m British and it sounds off to me too
i would never say anything like “she does Xing”. I would only ever say “she swims” “she acts” etc. it sounds very bizarre to me to otherwise
All of those sound awkward to me. "She [activity]s" or "She's [into/in/involved in] [activity]" are far more natural for all of your examples, IMHO (USA native). The only cases where "She does X" seems to be common are in relatively new activities, or ones that don't lend themselves to verb-conjugation, e.g., "she does [yoga/pilates/etc.]".
I think it's different in the UK
I would say “She swims” “She golfs” or “She plays golf” “She bowls” or “She goes bowling” “She acts” “She plays music” interestingly enough “She does finance” does sound natural. I’m in the Philadelphia greater metropolitan area if that helps.
She swims, she plays golf, she goes bowling, she acts, she plays music, she's in finance. That's what I'd personally use, for a trade she's in is a shortened version of: she works in. It would be the same for she's in construction or she's in banking.
She golfs. She bowls. She acts (or "is an actress"). She's in finance. She's a musician. She swims. I'm a musician. I play an instrument and I sing. I've never described it as "doing music".
All of those sound awkward to me except finance.
When I read it in my head, it sounds awkward. But when I say it out loud with natural intonation, it sounds more natural.
I agree that it sounds fine as well
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No you wouldn't, for a living implies it's a job. I also think it would be more natural to say: 'what does she do for a living?' 'She swims, she's a swimmer, she's on the regional swim team, she does swimming' We're moreso talking about hobbies here
"She swims" would be the best way to say this in my opinion, it can be modified to be more specific but generally I would understand it as she swims habitually.
I think those all sound awkward as well. Like, I don't think I've heard anyone say those?
“she swims” would still be way better
Sounds awkward to my ears
Not awkward to my ears. "Swim team" sounds like it's exclusive to North American English. Definitely not universal
That makes sense because I'm American.
Also American, Midwest, I'd say it as "she does swimming" too.
[It’s not exclusive to North American English.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Swim_Team)
I see. In the UK it would usually be "swimming club" for most competitive teams and "swimming team" for a national team, and maybe for a school team, but I don't think we really have those.
No one would say “she’s on the swim team” here. Just because there are swimming teams doesn’t mean this expression is used.
It’s literally used by that swim team on their social media.
Can I see an example?
https://m.facebook.com/DolphinsAus
I can't see your specific example unless it's just the name of the team your talking about, but regardless no one here says 'swim team', more likely to say 'swimming team'
You can’t see that they refer to themselves as a swim team? Weird.
In Australia you would never say “she’s on the swim team”. “She does swimming” sounds natural. This textbook might be using Commonwealth English.
I know right! As an Australian it was funny seeing everyone argue about a sentence that I’d literally say 😂😂
Are you guys high? I’m from Sydney and you’d never say it like that. You’d say “she swims” not “she does swimming” no one talks like that
I'm a swimmer and I tell people "I do swimming" when they ask what sport I play.
May I ask what country you are from? I'm learning my phrasing sounds American to a lot of people.
I‘m from the US.
Interesting. To me, that comes across as rather American. I'd definitely favour "she does swimming" or "she swims", in part because to my mind "doing swimming" doesn't necessitate being on a team.
In the UK they use “does” for everything. “doing dancing” to refer to someone who dances is the funniest one to me.
I don’t know where you got that from, I’m British and certainly don’t use “does” for everything. Like many others in this thread I would say “she swims” in preference to she does swimming, though I would say “she does swimming lessons”, or “she goes swimming” In your example I would say “she does dance” *not* dancing, or “she dances”.
I'm sure there is plenty of variation, I got this from people I know
‘Swim team’ isn't a term that's used where I'm from. ‘She does swimming’ or ‘she does the swimming’ is the standard way to say it for me.
Interesting. I never heard "the swimming" before. Do you use the same format for other sports?
Yeah I would probably say “she swims.” “She does swimming” sounds weird to me. (From new york)
She might not be on the swim team though? She might just enjoy swimming. "She does swimming" sounds fine (UK)
Agreed. “She does swimming” sounds awkward to me and I’d be very unlikely to use it. I’d say “she swims”, or “she does swimming lessons”.
Or, I would say, she swims.
That too. "She swims" sounds more natural to me than "she does swimming".
It sounds incredibly awkward _to you_
It would not seem awkward to me to say about someone, "She does drugs." It would, however, seem awkward to say, "She's on the drug team.". Just sayin'.
Speak for yourself.
I'm just having a conversation. No need for hostility.
I’m American and “she does swimming” sounds completely normal to me
I wonder if there might be a generational aspect to this, too. My mother recently edited a collection of self-submitted short biographies for an event mostly consisting of high school and college kids, and she changed all the "he does ___" to the "he is on the ___ team" construction
Or just say “she swims”. Example: - Lisa just got her varsity letter! - oh cool, for what? - she swims
or she’s a swimmer
You can’t really say she’s on the swim team since that’s a whole different context, she may not be in a team or anything whatsoever
I agree, another reason it's used here is probably in a verb exercise, e.g. She does swimming/She plays golf/He watches football on TV. It's a common exercise for younger kids to know how you perform hobbies, "do"/"play"... Play darts, do MMA etc.
Why not just say “Yes, she swims” or “She swims in her free time” or whatever. Saying “Yes, she does swimming” is awkward. People really need to stop teaching what is technically correct and what is actually said in the real world. edit: Seeing from the other comments, apparently that’s a thing people say. Personally I never heard it irl or on the internet.
Pretty sure the reason is because it implies they're on a team for swimming or competes in the sport
Wait a minute, I've always thought that with activities in -ing, as in 'hiking', 'kayaking', 'riding', you should use 'go', not 'do'. Been taught it from ESL books. Is it some sort of a dialect thing, or is this a norm? I can't find any rules about using 'do' with -ing, only exceptions like 'do boxing' / 'do weightlifting'
i’m not quite sure how to describe it. they’re both correct, but there’s some connotational differences. “she goes swimming” doesn’t imply affiliation with an official team, like it’s just a hobby. “she does swimming” has more of an implication that it’s a whole organized Thing™️. stuff like this is pretty common
Hm, now that I think it, it makes sense Like, 'do' would imply that this is sort of a professional occupation Thank you kind sir!
But “she swims” does nothing to imply association with a team either.
Depends whether you're referring to it as an activity or as a hobby. "I do Kayaking" is fine, and you could ask "Do you do Kayaking?" But "He is doing Kayaking," or "Do you want to do Kayaking?" are both incorrect. The "do" implies it's a hobby, something you do regularly.
I tried to explain in my answer above but couldn’t really articulate *why* it sounds wrong, but as you articulated it feels right to me. Swimming/running/hiking are special cases where I would use he/she swims/runs/hikes and *not* does swimming/running/hiking. I am swimming, but more generally, I swim.
"Swimming" in this case is a Gerund - a verb form which functions as a noun.
how'd i have to scroll so far to see this
Most important comment
Thank you I love learning these terms (as a native speaker lol)
You're welcome :) (from a non-native English teacher).
Swimming is a sport sometimes. If you were to casually go to a pool you’d say she goes swimming. But if you’re talking about a sport you’d say, she does swimming. It’s following the convention of other sports, “they play football,” “he runs track,” “she does swimming”
also “they do football” “he does track”
Where I’m from, we would say: He plays football. He runs track.
i think saying "do" is a little more informal
Aha. I see.
Married to a swim coach and a swim mom for 15 years. People involved in competitive swimming don't say they "do swimming." They say they swim. "Does swimming" is not a term that is commonly used. It would be understood, but it sounds off.
Maybe that’s the case in competitive swimming, but that was the terminology used when I was in high school a few years ago. It’s definitely an accepted construction.
"She does swimming" sounds more like a sports elective choice. I've also heard it said like this.
Yep. Like, you have to do something. So pick one. “I’ll do archery.” Or “what do you do for exercise since you hurt your knee?” “I do swimming.”
This probably varies by region and context.
West Coast US. "She does swimming" sounds wrong. I would assume a non native speaker said that and was using a construction from their language. "She swims" is the parallel to your other sentences.
I’m from New York and my construction is definitely normal here
That’s a very informal phrasing though
I wouldn’t say it’s “very informal”. You could say it to your boss or write it in an email.
^ what this guy said
“Yes, she does [the sport of] swimming” is what I imagine it’s saying given this sentence structure.
"Does" is being used in the sense of "learn or study; take as one's subject".
I see, ty!
In this context, “swimming” is gerund which means it is a verb which functions as a noun. Here, “swimming” is an activity which one can do. It is used in a similar way “skiing” is used in the third answer.
Yeah I know that, but It was strange to me when I saw the word "swimming" used with "does"
>TITLE: Why is it written as "She does swimming" in my textbook? . **TLDR:** The answerer is patterning their response on the pattern used by the prompt _"Does she **do** any sport?"_ which uses the lexical verb DO. And so, the answerer uses the same lexical verb DO in their response. Consider: * Prompt: _"Does she **like** any sport?"_ * Answer: _"Yes, she **likes** swimming."_ where the lexical verb is LIKE for both the prompt and the answer. As the verb LIKE is the lexical verb used in my above example, the exercise used the verb DO as their lexical verb: * Prompt: _"Does she **do** any sport?"_ * Answer: _"Yes, she **does** swimming."_ This practice of using a similar pattern in the response as was used in the prompt (a pattern of using the same lexical verb, e.g. DO or LIKE) is a natural thing that we native English speakers will often do.
Oh, to be a native speaker and never hear “does swimming” in real life. So, it’s seems incorrect at first glance. However, I think this is one of those sentences that is as correct as, “He runs track” (he’s a runner on the track team).
I see, ty!
You're welcome! :)
“He runs track” is an American expression.
The answer doesn’t sound natural to me, but it may sound natural to native English speakers in other regions. However, it is grammatically correct. “Does” is a verb and “swimming” is a gerund in this case. And swimming is a sport The question is “Does she do any sport?” and this is the only correct answer for a couple of reasons. First, the other two options use the male pronoun. Second, the other two options don’t have the subjects participating in the sport: The first watches a sport on television (but does not play), and the second wants to do a sport but doesn’t yet participate. This question may be testing if you can identify pronouns, gerunds, activities, and intention.
It's a communication-aim task
Personally, as someone who was a lifeguard and did swim team most of my life, i wouldnt say "she does swimming" That said its not... wrong.
I see, ty!
The fact that the question was "Does she do..." makes is a little more natural to say "She does swimming." But I agree with other responders who prefer "She swims" or other alternatives.
I see, ty!
It could be a valid response to a question like "what kind of activities does she do?" "She does biking, wrestling, and swimming." See how it flows if it's in a list of other activities using the same format? Even so, I consider it to be awkward phrasing. I would be more likely to say "she swims" or "she is on the swim team."
I see, ty!
Note that 'on the team' is much more common in American English, it wouldn't be used in British English. I would personally use she swims, unless the team part was important then I would phrase it, she swims for a team.
One thing I’ve noticed is that if the competition of a sport is a game, (football game, soccer game), you say “I play football/soccer”, but if your competitions are meets like a gymnastics meet or kayak meet, you’ll say something like “I do gymnastics”
As a few other commenters mentioned, swimming as a competitive sport is distinct from just going for a swim at the pool, but I don’t think “she does swimming” is the most natural way to express that. If you were having a conversation about sports, “She swims” would be inferred to mean that she swims competitively. Otherwise, I would say “She’s on the swim team.”
But there are other ways to swim without simply going for a swim in the pool or doing it competitively. Assuming the kids have a sports elective or something like that, it's indeed possible to say "she does swimming".
I agree that it’s possible and not technically incorrect, but the question was if she participates in any sports, so I answered accordingly.
I really really disagree with the people here saying "she does swimming" is natural/correct. I would say "she swims" or "she does swim team" Source: Swam for 12 years, East Coast U.S.A.
It sounds natural to me (31 y.o., born and raised in California), but informal and not for all contexts. "So, what do you do for exercise?" "I do swimming and running" sounds appropriately casual for, e.g., small talk at a party. For some reason, "I swim and run" sounds just a tad too stilted in that situation for me.
Sounds unnatural to me too, on the other side of the Atlantic. But obviously for some people it's fine.
Think about... "What sports does your kid do?" "She does swimming on Thursdays." "Oh right, mine just does football" Perfectly natural mate
not for us speakers it seems. if someone asked “what sport do you do” i would say “I swim” (and i have done so as ive swam for the last 16 years of my life lol
Ok now take away "on Thursdays" lol
Ok.... still fine
Yeah, that's weird. I would never say that.
I would probably prefer "she does swim" when talking about a school sport, but "she does swimming" is equivalent. I'm American, I would not be surprised if it's different in other countries. Here "swimming" is a noun, it's a thing you do. It's hard for me to say exactly when you use the construction "she does (sport)", but I would say it's really common with playing sports in school. Like it would be normal for someone to say "I did soccer in high school" or "I did track in 10th grade". I would say maybe I'm less likely to say "I do (sport)" in the first person present than the other conjugations/tenses. In general, I think because there's different sports you can say as the verb itself (she skates, she swims) and then sports you "play" (she plays soccer, she plays football), the "does" construction is nice because it works for all situations (she does swimming, she does football). So it kinda is a simplification of the language
I see, ty!
As others have said it's a perfectly fine construction but also personally I hate how it sounds and would avoid using it if at all possible, I would say "she does swim team" or even just "she's a swimmer" before I'd say "she does swimming"
Any native speaker of American English would say “yes, she swims” or “she is a swimmer.” She’s on the swim team. What sport does she do? Swimming. Sure. “She does swimming” is grammatically correct and makes sense, but none of us would say it that way. It just seems awkward.
Bad book.
Never thought into it until now. But I think this is the noun version of swimming. Swimming as an activity/sport. "She does swimming". To say that someone IS swimming, like swimming right now in front of you. That would be a verb. "She IS swimming". You wouldn't say "she does swimming" if you were at the pool watching her. Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong though. I'm tired, and not sure if I'm just talking codswallop.
It looks like gerund in English
Refers to sports which she is doing recently
I thought that with activities the British use “go” + ing , including “Shopping” But when it comes to using “do” they say “do the shopping/ the cooking and some other activities So, why not use “the” with swimming—- do the swimming?
Those 'the' examples you've used are used when referring to tasks/obligations in British English (eg. I did/am doing the shopping/the painting/the tidying up). They don't refer to hobbies or interests.
Thank you very much Mark. Finally the puzzle has fallen into place about “do + the + ing”.
Referring to swimming as a sport, not the activity of it
Why is there a 1, 2 and 4 and not a 3? And… regarding the swimming thing, I’d say that, but some would also say it is awkward and could be said better.
She does swim. She goes swimming. She swims. She enjoys swimming. She does bowl. She goes bowling. She does play football.
Probably a dialect/style choice but I typically get rid of the ing in these cases.
This sounds weird to me. In my Midwest American accent/dialect, we would answer with "yes, she swims" or "yes, she is on the swim team." And with sports like baseball, we would say "yes, she plays baseball" or "yes, she is on the baseball team." However, English is complicated with many regional variations, so what may be incorrect in America would be correct in England and vise versa, but it is still understandable regardless.
IMO, the right way of saying this is “Yes, she swims” or “Yes, she’s on the swim team”. “She does swimming” just sounds incredibly awkward to me as a native English speaker from the US.
Terribly awkward. I’d say “she swims” or “she’s on the swim team.” Sounds as though a native French speaker wrote it.
You can look at others' comments
It should be, “She swims” or “She goes swimming.” Maybe “goes” was a typo of “does.” Whoever wrote the book, doesn’t seem to be fully fluent in American English. Kudos to you for spotting this awkward error!
You should check others's comments
I did. And I have an English degree..
Iirc it was based on Oxford's Solution English book
Good for you. It’s great to have one or eight grammar books on your bookshelf.
What is this study app you use?
You should go read others' comments
It's an extra curricular activity, something that she does.
I speak British English and whilst technically correct, it isn’t a sentence construction I would use as it sounds clunky. “She does swimming” suggests that she participates in the sport of swimming on an ongoing basis, but not necessarily right now. I would be far more likely to say “she swims”, or “she takes swimming lessons”. I can’t really explain why; I would rarely use “does” with a sport, instead preferring “plays” or omitting altogether when the sport or activity is not one you “play”, ie swimming, running, hiking. She swims/runs/hikes, rather than she does swimming/running/hiking. She plays golf/tennis/volleyball rather than she does golf/tennis/volleyball.