Grammar – Should It Be ‘To Have a Swim’ or ‘To Take a Swim’?

grammarsentence-choicesentence-usage

1. I'm going for a swim.
2. I'm going to have a swim.
3. I'm going to take a swim.

Are the last two sentences correct? I know the first one is, but what about the last two?

I know that you can use 'have' and 'take' with certain nouns, in sentences such as;

1. We're going to (have/take) a look around
2. I'm gonna have a read of this book

I believe they're called Delexical Verbs.

I know they sound a bit unnatural, but are they correct and would you find them okay in informal/casual conversations?

Best Answer

All three sentences are correct, but they can carry a surprisingly complex subtlety of meaning.

"I'm going for [something]", in this context, means I am departing to do or obtain that something. In other contexts, it could instead mean I am attempting to achieve something ("I'm going for the record"), or I am choosing an option (given a choice of desserts, "I'm going for the ice-cream"), but neither of these alternative possibilities applies to "going for a swim".

"I'm going to (have|take) a swim", on the other hand, mean that you are planning to swim. There is no implication that you'll have to go elsewhere in order to do so, as there is with "I'm going for a swim". In the specific case of swimming, this distinction is pretty meaningless, but if you replace the activity with, say, napping, it gains some relevance: "I'm going for a nap" is appropriate only if you are napping elsewhere, while "I'm going to (have|take) a nap" would also be appropriate if you're going to nap right where you are.

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