Anonymous  +  814242 Fri, 10 Jul 09 09:08 PM Dear all, I´m looking for a verb collocating with "kayak" (the verb to describe how you move a kayak). The reason: One of my students wrote this (in an e-mail to a travel agent offering adventure holidays): "I am in good shape but I´ve never been on a kayak tour. Do you think it is possible for me to drive them?". "to drive" is obviously wrong, but what do we say instead? Row? Or is that only for boats? I hope someone can help. Thanks! Judit Anonymous Students

	Grammar Geek  +  814273 Fri, 10 Jul 09 09:35 PM You paddle them.   Hope he has a ton of fun. It's a very different way to experience the water.   Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,683 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!

	Grammar Geek  +  814292 Fri, 10 Jul 09 09:49 PM An oar has the flat part, the part that goes in the water, on one end and a handle on the other. They go in oarlocks, mounted to the side of the boat. The movement you make with the oar will always pivot around the oar lock.   A paddle can also have a handle at one end, often in the shape of T, such as the type used for a canoe. You can move the paddle anywhere you want.   A kayak paddle has a blade on either end, and you hold it in the middle. You put one side in the water to propel the boat forward, then the other. By the way, tell him to make sure he's using his body, not his arm, and don't think of pulling the paddle toward him, but of keeping the paddle in place and pushing the boat past that point.   You can use the verb "to paddling" or "go kayayking" to refer to the activity, by the way, though "go padding" has meaning only to those who do it.   Grammar Geek Activities