Amusement park rides.

At an amusement park.

"I want to take ride on that swing."

"I want to swing on that swing."

"I don't know the names of all the rides."

Please check.

I'm not getting on the roller coaster.

tufguy said:

"I want to take ride on that swing."

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'I want to take a ride…', or, 'I want to ride…'.

D'oh!

"I want to take a ride" if we want to talk about a particular ride then what we need to say? I don't want to ride that ride?


"I don't know the names of all the rides." Is this sentence correct?

I would say, 'I don't want to go on that ride'.

'I don't know the names of all the rides' is OK. You could also say, 'I don't know what all the rides are called'.

Do we say "I don't want to ride that swing?" I am talking about the "swing" here not the rides. I think they are different right?

tufguy said:

Do we say "I don't want to ride that swing?" I am talking about the "swing" here not the rides. I think they are different right?

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Yes, you can say that. One of the rides could be a swing, but "ride" and "swing" don't mean the same thing.

We don't usually "ride" a swing.

I don't want to go on the swing.

In AE, we do "ride" The Swings, though we might also say "go on" The Swings (or some other ride). I'm not talking about the apparatus at a park where a row of seats are independently suspended from an elevated bar and you provide the power. There, we would "swing" on the swings.

I'm talking about a large, spinning horizontal wheel with seats suspended by chains. The wheel stops, the seats are filled, and then the wheel starts spinning. By my logic, since the riders do not provide the motive power, then they are truly riding.

I'm curious to know if other teachers in non native English speaking countries have encountered the same confusion I have: (Chinese) students want to say they went to an amusement park and "played the ________". They are unaware of this (slightly) unusual use of ride as a noun, and even more confused by the incongruity of ride as both noun and a verb in the same sentence.

J&K Tutoring said:

In AE, we do "ride" The Swings, though we might also say "go on" The Swings (or some other ride). I'm not talking about the apparatus at a park where a row of seats are independently suspended from an elevated bar and you provide the power. There, we would "swing" on the swings.

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Okay so we can say "I want to swing on that swing."

Yes, you can say:

"I want to swing on that swing."

Usually you just get on whichever one is available.

Can we say: I want to play on the swing/ see-saw/playground equipment?

Yes.