why do you say " faire de la plongée" but "jouer au beach volley"

Maria A.A2Kwiziq community member

why do you say " faire de la plongée" but "jouer au beach volley"

Asked 2 years ago
CélineNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Maria,

That's a very interesting question! Sometimes, in French, we decide to "borrow" in a way a term from the other language instead of making a new one entirely. ;-) That's the case for 'beach-volley' or 'un milk-shake',  'un scoop', 'un gang', 'un sketch', 'une start-up, 'le week-end' and many more. 

The other way is possible too, see here: Cinq mots que les Anglais ont empruntés aux Français 

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

In case your question relates to the usage of "faire de" vs. "jouer à":

I've posted a lengthy explanation a few days back: https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/questions/view/i-still-don-t-get-the-principle

Maria A. asked:

why do you say " faire de la plongée" but "jouer au beach volley"

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