[Grammar] go and do something

[kadioguy]

On http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/go, it says:

go
verb
go and do something (also go do something American English) [not in past tenses] to move to a particular place in order to do something

Go wash your hands.
I went and spoke to the manager.

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Why does it say 'not in past tenses' and then in the example it writes 'I went and spoke to the manager.'?

Is there a contradiction between them?

 

[Tarheel]

It says the phrase is not used in the past tense and then it gives an example of its use in the past tense. That is clearly a contradiction.

 

[Phaedrus]

It's the "go [verb]" variant that can't be in the past tense.

We can say: I went and spoke to the manager.

But even Americans can't say: *I went spoke to the manager.

 

[kadioguy]

It's the "go [verb]" variant that can't be in the past tense.

We can say: I went and spoke to the manager.

But even Americans can't say: *I went spoke to the manager.

I am sorry, but I cannot understand what you mean. Could you explain it in a easier way or in more detail?

Does you mean 'go do something' cannot be in past tenses, but 'go and do something' can be so?

 

[Tarheel]

Using the example given, you could say:

I went and washed my hands.

But not:

I went washed my hands.

 

[Phaedrus]

I am sorry, but I cannot understand what you mean. Could you explain it in a easier way or in more detail?

In both British and American English, we can use the "go and [verb]" construction:

"Let's go and see John."
"We need to go and get some gas."
"You should go and meet them now."

In informal American English, we can omit the conjunction "and" in such sentences:

"Let's go see John."
"We need to go get some gas."
"You should go meet them now."

In both British and American English, the version with the conjunction can be in the past tense:

"We went and saw John."
"We went and got some gas."
"You went and met them."

But the version without the conjunction can never grammatically be in the past tense, even in American English. In the following non-sentences, I am using a bold black asterisk and red lettering to represent that the non-sentences aren't sentences. They're ungrammatical. If I knew how strikes are drawn through sentences on this forum, I would do that, too, just to make sure you understood that these are examples of things you should never, ever say:

*"We went saw John."
*"We went got some gas."
*"You went met them."

 

[kadioguy]

If I knew how strikes are drawn through sentences on this forum, I would do that, too, just to make sure you understood that these are examples of things you should never, ever say:

*"We went saw John."
*"We went got some gas."
*"You went met them."

You can do it by following just two steps :





*"We [STRIKE]went saw[/STRIKE] John."
*"We [STRIKE]went got[/STRIKE] some gas."
*"You [STRIKE]went met[/STRIKE] them."

 

[Rover_KE]

To find the strike-through feature you have to Go Advanced.

 

[emsr2d2]

You can do it manually as well. You have to type [STRIKE] before the word(s) you want to strike through. After them, you type the same thing but you put a forward slash before the word STRIKE.

 

[GoesStation]

In informal American English, we can omit the conjunction "and" in such sentences:

"Let's go see John."
"We need to go get some gas."
"You should go meet them now."

I wouldn't qualify that usage as "informal".

 

[GoesStation]

If I knew how strikes are drawn through sentences on this forum, I would do that, too, just to make sure you understood that these are examples of things you should never, ever say....

You can strike through text two ways here:
1) Click "Go Advanced"
2) In the advanced editor that opens, highlight the text you want to strike through.
3) Click the far right-hand button in the lower toolbar. It's labeled "[STRIKE]ABC[/STRIKE]".

The other way requires typing some formatting codes.
1) Immediately before the text you want to strike through, type [ strike ] without the spaces.
2) Immediately after the text, type [ /strike ] without the spaces.

 

[Phaedrus]

Thanks for all the help with using the strike feature! The manual technique, as it turns out, is the same as it is at my home forum. I thought it might be, but didn't want to risk having to edit my post. Returning briefly to the topic, I realized this morning that the restriction on the "and"-less American "go [verb]" variant isn't that it be in the present tense; it's that the verb form of "go" actually be "go," the base form of the verb. Thus, the construction can be used in the future simple, which uses the base form of the verb after "will": "He will go meet John at one o'clock." But just as we can't use the past tense ("[strike]He went met John just this afternoon[/strike]"), we can't use the third person singular present (-s form): "[strike]Every time he goes meets John, he drinks too much coffee[/strike]."

 

[kadioguy]

I realized this morning that the restriction on the "and"-less American "go [verb]" variant isn't that it be in the present tense;

What does the "and"-less American "go [verb]" variant mean?
Is it one word?

 

[Phaedrus]

What does the "and"-less American "go [verb]" variant mean?
Is it one word?

What do you think it means?

 

[kadioguy]

I think it means 'go do something American English', but what does '"and"-less' mean? Omit 'and'?

 

[Phaedrus]

"And"-less means "without the word 'and.'"
"I'm going to go and get a haircut." (British and American)
Do you see the word "and"? Yes.
"I'm going to go get a haircut." (American)
Do you see the word "and"? No.

If you ask me another question about what I wrote, I promise you that I won't answer it.

 

[GoesStation]

I think it means 'go do something American English', but what does '"and"-less' mean? Omit 'and'?

The poster meant "without and". Nouns in -less work that way: hopeless, thoughtless, windowless, etc. Following that pattern gives us the invented word "and"-less, which seemed apt for the situation.

 

[kadioguy]

If you ask me another question about what I wrote, I promise you that I won't answer it.

Well, I am sorry to bother you. :-?

When I don't understand something or what someone said, I ask a question, but I don't mean to bother anyone. If you get offended, I am sorry.

 

[Phaedrus]

When I don't understand something or what someone said, I ask a question, but I don't mean to bother anyone.

If you really didn't understand "and"-less, and weren't just pretending not to understand it, then I apologize for assuming otherwise. Sometimes when we're talking about the language, rather than just using it, we find ourselves using such made-up phrases out of convenience. Aside from the fact that I thought its meaning was totally obvious in context, the reason I didn't enjoy answering your question about that multi-word phrase of mine (the "and"-less American "go [verb]" variant) is that, in hindsight, I would have added a comma between "and"-less and American: the "and"-less, American "go [verb]" variant. (I had actually debated about whether to add a comma there before making my post.) Only one American variant was under discussion, and it has the property of being "and"-less, i.e., of being without the word "and." Absent a comma between and-less and American -- uh, oh, I just used "absent" as a proposition -- my phrase technically implies that the "and"-less variant is but one type of American "go [verb]" variant. Have a nice day, kadioguy.