[Idiom] "Went out running"

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sara_imk

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Hello,

I would like to know if using the following sentence is correct:
"Went out running"
if I'm describing someone who went out from a place in a hurry,
I know that I should just say: "Went out in a hurry"
But is it wrong to use the first one? Does "running" in that sentence become an adverb?

Thank you in advance.
 
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2006

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Hello,
Welcome!
I would like to know if using the following sentence is correct:
"Went out running" is not a sentence. And it's meaning is not clear. It could mean that 'they' ran out or that 'they' went out to go running.

if I'm describing someone who went out from a place in a hurry,
I know that I should just say: "Went out in a hurry" But the meaning of that phrase is also unclear. It could mean that they went out immediately or that they went out at high speed.

But is it wrong to use the first one? Does "running" in that sentence become an adverb? Again the meaning of that phrase is unclear, but -ing verbs are rarely adverbs.

Thank you in advance.
2006
 

BobK

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Hello,

I would like to know if using the following sentence is correct:
"Went out running"
if I'm describing someone who went out from a place in a hurry,
I know that I should just say: "Went out in a hurry"
But is it wrong to use the first one? Does "running" in that sentence become an adverb?

Thank you in advance.

Your last question suggests another way of saying this - with an adverb phrase (as 2006 suggested in the words 'they went out at high speed'); and to be more specific about the high speed you could say he went out at a run.

But that sounds to me a bit formal. I'd expect to hear a changed verb: 'he ran/hurried/rushed out.

b
 
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