English UsageComparison guide
Go Shopping vs. Go To Shop
Oxford records “go shopping” as the conventional expression for doing the shopping activity. A purpose infinitive such as to shop belongs to a different construction and should not be presented as an equivalent activity complement.
Use “go shopping” for the activity of shopping. “Go to shop” can occur only when to shop functions as a separate purpose infinitive in context, not as the ordinary activity expression.
Key details
Confusion Familyverb-complement
Rule Familyverb-complementation
Termsgo shopping, go to shop
Further guidance
Core difference
Use go shopping for the conventional activity expression.
Style Boundary
Keep the lexicalized activity expression separate from a purpose infinitive that may follow a movement verb in a larger sentence.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- shopping noun — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford University Press · Preferred-dictionary evidence for the conventional activity expression go shopping