Thread: Going to go

Originally Posted by Sparrow

... I've been feeingl sort of like I am talking to myself on here, and it makes me sulk somewhat...

Same here. Я здесь вроде бы делаю коллекцию песен только для себя, потому что её упорно никто не замечает.

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Originally Posted by Matroskin Kot

It's not a USA thing. It's perfectly normal, standard English, of the kind spoken anywhere in any English speaking country. Feel free to avoid it if you like, but I don't see any reason to. In fact, I'm not sure what you would replace it with.

As for your second paragraph, I have to disagree somewhat. Yes, there are slight dialectical differences from region to region....

Hi, Кот Матроскин!

Thanks for the respond. Nice to have someone talking to me actually. Until now, I've been feeingl sort of like I am talking to myself on here, and it makes me sulk somewhat...

And oh, I can tell you what to replace it with! With the Present Progressive Tense! To be + an infinitive+ing. Remember, it can be used for the future tense? So, I can say, "I am going out for dinner tomorrow." It''s just that I don't like the repeatition of the same word so piled up together -- "going" and "go". Do you understand?

Of course, people understand each other in the same country! I was trying to emphasize that the dialectical differences are rather significant in the USA, or so is my impression anyway.

Cheers!

Don't feel bad if you don't get a response right away. Especially if you aren't asking a question about Russian
Chatting in English is not the main focus of most of the native English speakers who come here. In fact, I actually make it a point (sometimes) not to join in the conversations taking place in English if I think that I'm not putting enough effort into my Russian. Today, I've relaxed a bit and have decided to "let my hair down".

Perhaps I don't notice the dialectical differences as much because I grew up with them. I imagine that if had had to learn English as a second language, the differences might stand out to me more

Originally Posted by Matroskin Kot

Today, I've relaxed a bit and have decided to "let my hair down".

Perhaps I don't notice the dialectical differences as much because I grew up with them. I imagine that if had had to learn English as a second language, the differences might stand out to me more

[/quote]

Oh, please, Кот Матроскин, relax more often! I signed up on here for a few reasons: To brush and polish my English and to enjoy typing in Russian, which is my native language, and on the way to, maybe, help someone as far as I can... But I just get sad if nobody seems to talk to nobody...

As for the second phrase of yours I quoted, it makes perfect sense. An American friend of mine, a very adult person, has just started to learn Russian -- for fun. And he notices such things in the language as the native speaker me never pays attention to. Like, he says, the Д, Ф, Ж, and the double dot on top of the Ё look very Chinese.

Originally Posted by Sparrow

It''s just that I don't like the repeatition of the same word so piled up together -- "going" and "go". Do you understand?

There are several grammatical constructions where we get a repetition of the same word (sort of) in the space of a few words. For instance:

I'm going to go there tomorrow.
He had had a difficult time contacting his advisor.
I told her that that car was a lemon and she shouldn't buy it.

All three sentences are perfectly normal everywhere I've been in the US. It's not a regional thing. BTW, the first one is often pronounced “I'm gonna go there tomorrow.”

Originally Posted by Sparrow

It's just sound awkward, guys, can you not hear that???

Perhaps only sounds awkward to you because your first language is Russian and you were taught by Russian teachers that you should avoid repeating the same word in the same sentence at all costs. Now you are subconsciously trying to apply the same rule to English.
And I think the OP asked his question in the first place for this exact reason: he also believed that such a repetition should be avoided at all costs.

Hi all,

I'm a native English speaker, just recently started trying to learn Russian. Hoping to be a regular around these parts as I progress.

I can honestly say that phrases like "going to go" are perfectly normal in the English language. Hell, you just have to Google the it and you get numerous quotes saying exactly that.

I would not even describe it as stilted or formal. It is just as likely someone will speak this way to close friends and family. It is certainly common to speak more casually as well but English speaking habits are many and varied.

I've probably said "going to go" every day of my life since I first learned to speak.