like + go + -ing (')
¡Saludos! es grandioso estar de nuevo por aquí.
Aprendí que después de I like *el verbo siguiente toma la forma -ing, ej. *I like swimming. ¿Pero qué pasa cuando el verbo se compone de go+ -ing, como go walking, go swimming?
¿Cuál es la correcta?
a) I like go swimming
b) I like to go swimming
c) I like going swimming
15 Answers
I would say that if you are "going to swim" and you are "leaving right away" then in that moment you are not actually swimming and ergo the action of swimming is set to take place in the future and therefore in this context "going to swim" still refers to a future intention.
But my point is that in my first example, "going" is used only for future tense purposes, and does not refer to any motion related to the verb "to go." In my second example, however, "going" does mean "to go," as in "I am leaving now to swim." To put it another way, in the first example, the speaker might already be in the pool and say "I'm going to swim tomorrow." Obviously, there is no travel involved in the "going" here, and it is just used to make the action refer to the future. In the second sentence, though, the speaker is not using "going" as a future tense, but instead is using it in the normal sense of "to go," as in "I am going to the pool" (I am on my way to the pool / Voy a la piscina).
I hope you see the distinction I was trying to make.
I was interested in how to use the two infinitives ir and nadar. It's a little hard to understand with the gustar verb since going swimming or to go swimming is actually the subject of the sentence. I didn't think that it could be ir a nadar because that looks too much like the future tense (going to swim). I was wondering if it would be ir de nadar like the ir de compras (to go shopping) that we covered in the lessons here?
In the sentence "Me gusta nadar", "nadar" is the subject of the sentence.
In the sentence "Me gusta ir a nadar", "ir a nadar" is the subject of the sentence.
In the sentence "Me gusta ir a nadar con mis hijos", "ir a nadar con mis hijos" is the subject of the sentence.
In the sentence "Me gusta que nades", "que nades" is the subject of the sentence.
This is interesting. I understood that as in "fumar causa cáncer" the infinitive in Spanish is used as a noun but I didn't realise that it was so easily translatable to Spanish (or vice versa).
The first third subjects are infinitive clauses, and they rely on the main clause to determine their subject. In any case, infinitives are used as nouns in Spanish. The fourth clause is a normal clause with "que", also behaving like a noun.
I think that "I like going swimming" may not be translatable.
Yes, it is easily translatable: Me gusta ir a nadar.
Infinitives are nouns in Spanish. "Ir a nadar" functions as a noun here.
The idea of swimming in the middle of the ocean frightened me.
La idea de nadar en medio del océano me asustó.
The fact that you can talk about the future using the construction ir a + infinitive / be going to + infinitive doesn't mean that this is the future tense.
Yes, and the same applies to English. "Going to + infinitive" is a type of future tense, but that doesn't mean that "going to" is always used for the future.
I'm going to swim (tomorrow).
I'm going to swim (right away, and I'm leaving right now).
The context makes clear which meaning is intended, and this is also true in Spanish.
Hablando de nadar:
Un pez le pregunta a otro - ¿Qué hace tu papá?
El otro le contesta - Nada.
I would say that if you are "going to swim" and you are "leaving right away" then in that moment you are not actually swimming and ergo the action of swimming is set to take place in the future and therefore in this context "going to swim" still refers to a future intention.
The fact that you can talk about the future using the construction ir a + infinitive / be going to + infinitive doesn't mean that this is the future tense.
Yes, and the same applies to English. "Going to + infinitive" is a type of future tense, but that doesn't mean that "going to" is always used for the future.
I'm going to swim (tomorrow).
I'm going to swim (right away, and I'm leaving right now).
The context makes clear which meaning is intended, and this is also true in Spanish.
Hablando de nadar:
Un pez le pregunta a otro - ¿Qué hace tu papá?
El otro le contesta - Nada.
I was interested in how to use the two infinitives ir and nadar. It's a little hard to understand with the gustar verb since going swimming or to go swimming is actually the subject of the sentence. I didn't think that it could be ir a nadar because that looks too much like the future tense (going to swim). I was wondering if it would be ir de nadar like the ir de compras (to go shopping) that we covered in the lessons here?
In the sentence "Me gusta nadar", "nadar" is the subject of the sentence.
In the sentence "Me gusta ir a nadar", "ir a nadar" is the subject of the sentence.
In the sentence "Me gusta ir a nadar con mis hijos", "ir a nadar con mis hijos" is the subject of the sentence.
In the sentence "Me gusta que nades", "que nades" is the subject of the sentence.
The first third subjects are infinitive clauses, and they rely on the main clause to determine their subject. In any case, infinitives are used as nouns in Spanish. The fourth clause is a normal clause with "que", also behaving like a noun.
I think that "I like going swimming" may not be translatable.
Yes, it is easily translatable: Me gusta ir a nadar.
Infinitives are nouns in Spanish. "Ir a nadar" functions as a noun here.
The idea of swimming in the middle of the ocean frightened me.
La idea de nadar en medio del océano me asustó.
The idea of swimming in the middle of the ocean frightened me.
La idea [del]the[/del] de nadar en medio del océano me asustó.
You have a typo in your Spanish sentence. Aren't you glad that you can go back and edit these now?
Thank you for the explanation of the ir a + infinitive. I knew that you could make those constructions, but I never really thought about what verb time they represented.
The fact that you can talk about the future using the construction ir a + infinitive / be going to + infinitive doesn't mean that this is the future tense. In any case, this construction can be used in any tense:
voy a salir = present
Fui a salir = preterite
Iré a salir = future
Ir a salir = infinitive
I didn't think that it could be ir a nadar because that looks too much like the future tense (going to swim).
With trepidation I offer the opinion that if it were future tense the "ir" would be conjugated, hence it is easily distinguishable.
not nadando[/del]]).
By how do you express the going swimming in Spanish.
¿Me gusta ir nadar?
If so, is that b) or c) or both? or how do you translate the other?
I think that "I like going swimming" may not be translatable. However, I am far from an adept Spanish speaker and so would welcome any suggestions from somebody that knows.
Assuming that it isn't translatable a simple reason would be that we use different verbs in English and Spanish to express the same ideas. For example, (again excuse my Spanish if it is wrong) but "estoy tomando un café" would be translated as "I am having a coffee" in English. The point being that the verb (translated to English) would be "to take" a coffee whereas in English we "have" a coffee. For that reason "to go swimming" may only exist in English.
However, as "swimming" here is functioning as a noun, an equivalent in Spanish might be "natación" in which case "me gusta ir a natación" (although I'm fairly sure that's bad). "Me gusta ir a las clases de natación" might be better but doesn't express the same thing.
Suggestions from native Spanish speakers would be very welcome.
B. "I like to go swimming." (Me gusta ir a nadar.)
También, puedes decir: "I like to swim." (Me gusta nadar.)
If I am incorrect on anything, please correct it.
Yes, I understand that me gusta nadar can be either I like swimming (English gerund) or I like to swim.
I was interested in how to use the two infinitives ir and nadar. It's a little hard to understand with the gustar verb since going swimming or to go swimming is actually the subject of the sentence. I didn't think that it could be ir a nadar because that looks too much like the future tense (going to swim). I was wondering if it would be ir de nadar like the ir de compras (to go shopping) that we covered in the lessons here'
B. "I like to go swimming." (Me gusta ir a nadar.)
También, puedes decir: "I like to swim." (Me gusta nadar.)
If I am incorrect on anything, please correct it. 
not nadando[/del]]).
By how do you express the going swimming in Spanish.
¿Me gusta ir nadar?
If so, is that b) or c) or both? or how do you translate the other'
Gracias por corregirme
Después del verbo "like" puedes usar la forma -ing del verbo o el infinitivo. Es porque en estos casos la forma -ing se llama el "gerund") y el infinitivo actúan como sustantivos. Así que "I like swimming" y "I like to swim" son correctas.
En el caso de "I like going swimming" (la que es correcta) "going swimming" actúa como [del]el[/del] sustantivo.
"I like go swimming" está mal porque en este caso "go" no puede funcionar como sustantivo.
Por favor, corrígeme lor errores
La explicación gramatical es muy buena.
¡Saludos! es grandioso estar de nuevo por aquí.
Aprendí que después de I like *el verbo siguiente toma la forma -ing, ej. *I like swimming. ¿Pero qué pasa cuando el verbo se compone de go+ -ing, como go walking, go swimming?
¿Cuál es la correcta?
a) I like go swimming
b) I like to go swimming
c) I like going swimming
Después del verbo "like" puedes usar la -ing forma del verbo o el infinitivo. Es porque en estós casos la -ing form (se llama el "gerund") y el infinitivo actuan como sustantivos. Así que "I like swimming" y "I like to swim" son correctas.
En el caso de "I like going swimming" (la que es correcto) "going swimming" actua como el sustantivo.
"I like go swimming" está mal porque en este caso "go" no puede actuar como sustantivo.
Por favor corrigeme lor errores
