ESEN
Which one to use?Beginnerverboverbo
WalkvsGo
"Walk" specifies you are going on foot; "go" just says you are moving, without saying how.
Side-by-side comparison
Walk
verboTo move on foot. Specifies the mode of transport: your own legs.
I walked to work today because the weather was beautiful.
Let's walk to the restaurant. It's only ten minutes from here.
She walks her dog every morning before breakfast.
Go
verboTo move or travel. Very general, does not say how you get there, only that you are moving from one place to another.
I usually go to work by bus, but sometimes I drive.
Are you going to the party on Saturday?
We went to the beach last weekend and had a great time.
Common mistake
Using "walk" when the mode of transport is not on foot: "I walked to Paris" implies you went the whole way on foot, if you flew, say "I went to Paris." "Walk" fixes the mode as walking; "go" leaves it open.
Trick to remember it
- •"Walk" locks in the mode as "on foot"; "go" leaves it open.
- •"I walk to school" tells us exactly how, on foot; "I go to school" tells us nothing about the mode.
Quick rule
- •Walk = go on foot (specific mode).
- •Go = travel in any way (mode not specified).
Did you know?
GO is the most irregular verb in English in terms of its forms. Present: "go." Past: "went", which comes from a completely different verb, "wend" (to travel along a path), now practically obsolete except in literary "to wend one's way." Past participle: "gone." This is a case of "suppletion", when a verb's paradigm is completed with forms from a different root because the original form fell out of use. Spanish has something similar with "ir" (voy, fui, forms from different Latin verbs).
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
She usually _____ to work in the morning. It only takes fifteen minutes.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
They _____ shopping every Saturday morning at the big market.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
BringvsTake
One moves something toward you, the other moves it away from you.
ComevsGo
One moves toward the speaker, the other moves away from the speaker.
AbovevsOver
"Above" is at a higher level without contact; "over" implies covering, movement, or crossing.
ActuallyvsReally
"Actually" corrects or contrasts an assumption; "really" intensifies or confirms.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy