help me find an English grammar rule?

[ratcreature]

In English with some verbs you can use their ing-form after go, i.e. sentences like "I go running often", "we are going shopping" etc., but with other verbs this is not allowed, i.e. you don't say "we are going eating"(*) but "we are going (out) to eat".

I think the rule is that the construction is only allowed with movement verbs, like go walking, swimming, dancing, etc. all work, but not with reading, knitting or painting. I'm actually unsure about playing, but I think not? OTOH working and hunting seem okay in the construction?

I tried finding the rule for this in grammar explanations but I'm not even sure whether the -ing is considered a gerund or a present participle here. So I was hoping that maybe the English language geeks on my f-list could point me.

Comments

[healingmirth]

I don't have a technical explanation, but here goes. It is 80% likely that I have just made up an explanation that meets the examples in my brain, so I welcome challenges to the idea.

Unfortunately "we're going out drinking" is totally a thing you can say. I think the problem with the eating construction is in the expectation of duration. I suppose one *could* eat for hours, but that is typically not the case. (Most people also only run or walk or swim for half an hour, but you... Could?)

More specifically, I would also not say "we're going voting," rather only, "we're going to vote"

Going hunting is definitely a thing, both socially and for food. Going to hunt sounds like the apocalypse has struck and I am going to bring home dinner. Going working is not a thing, only going to work (which, again, might be the time boundary/goal thing.)

[healingmirth]

I should also have said, in this case the part of speech is the present participle, in the continuous sense.

I'm going hunting - present participle.
Hunting helps to feed your family - gerund.

[brownbetty]

I'm glad you said this because I was about to blithely suggest it's gerunds all the way down.

[ratcreature]

An ESL grammar article someone on LJ linked me which discusses this says these constructions are go + gerund:
http://www.eslcafe.com/grammar/verbs_other_verbs08.html

[ratcreature]

Though an ESL grammar article someone on LJ linked me which discusses this says these constructions are go + gerund:
http://www.eslcafe.com/grammar/verbs_other_verbs08.html

[ratcreature]

But you can read, sleep or knit for hours, and the construction isn't really used for those either afaik.