Learn English – Is it bad English to substitute the word ‘says’ with ‘goes’

american-englishword-choiceword-usage

In the Midwest, I notice that some people substitute the word 'says' with 'goes' and this has always bothered me. For example, I will hear someone say something such as "So my mother goes, "you should drink water instead of soda."" instead of "So my mother says, "you should drink water instead of soda."".

Is this simply bad English?

Best Answer

The OED calls that usage of go colloquial. It's a logical extension of the more correct usage of "go" defined as "produced sound" (i.e. "the firecracker went 'bang'"). This usage goes all the way back to the 16th century.

It's interesting to note that the earlier examples it gives refer to people making vocalizations that are not entirely words, i.e. "‘Yo-yo-yo-yo-yoe,’ went the first boy." So it seems like using "goes" instead of "says" is something that is increasing in common usage, at least in informal situations.

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