Page 234 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

227 go/come for a ...
We can use the structure go/come for a ... in some fixed expressions referring to actions, mostly leisure activities. Using this structure makes the action sound casual and probably rather short. (Compare go .. .ing - see 228.) Common examples:
go/come for a walk, a run, a swim, a ride, a drive, a drink, a meal go for a bath, a shower, a pee/piss (taboo - see 575).
We need some fresh air. Let's go for a walk.
Would you like to come for a drink this evening?
I'm going for a shower. Can you answer my phone if it rings?
This structure is only used with certain action-nouns - we would probably not say, for example, Come for a ski with us or I'm going for a read.
For other structures in which nouns are used to refer to actions. see 598.
228 go/come ...ing
1 go ...ing
We use go with an -ing form to talk about activities in which people move about, and which do not have a fixed beginning or end. The structure is common in expressions referring to sport and leisure activities - for example go climbing, go dancing, go fishing, go hunting, go riding, go sailing,
go shooting, go skating, go skiing, go swimming, go walking. Let's go climbing next weekend.
Did you go dancing last Saturday?
Go .. .ing is also used to talk about looking for or collecting things. I think I'll go shopping tomorrow.
In June all the students go looking for jobs.
Anne's going fruit-picking this weekend.
We do not use go .. .ing to talk about activities that have a more definite beginning and end (NOT gtJ bttXing, gtJ watching 02 }66tb02U mtJteh).
2 come...ing
Come . . .ing is also possible in certain situations (for the difference between come and go, see 134).
Come swimming with us tomorrow.
3 prepositions
Note that prepositions of place, not direction, are used after go/come . . .ing. I went swimming in the river. (NOT I went sfl:limming to the ritler.)
She went shopping at Harrods. (NOT ••• to Hf/lffljds.)
go/come for a ... 227
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