Why can't go home be said as go to home, and why can't go to school be said as go school?

The distinction between "go home" and "go to school" hinges on the grammatical classification of the words "home" and "school" and the specific prepositions they govern. "Home" functions uniquely as an adverb of place in this construction, meaning "to or at the place where you live." Because it is an adverb, it does not require the preposition "to," similar to how we say "go there" or "go abroad." The phrase "go to home" is therefore grammatically redundant, as the directional meaning is already embedded within the adverbial "home." In contrast, "school" in this context is primarily a noun, so it requires the preposition "to" to indicate direction toward that institution, forming the standard prepositional phrase "go to school."

However, the rule is not absolute and reveals interesting nuances in usage. While "school" typically requires the preposition, it can drop the article ("the" or "a") because the phrase "go to school" is often used in an institutional, non-specific sense, implying the general activity of attending an educational institution. One would not say "go school" because the noun lacks the necessary preposition to show direction. Conversely, "home" can also be used as a noun, but this changes the meaning and requires an article or determiner, as in "go to the home" or "go to my home," which refers to a physical structure or specific dwelling rather than the abstract concept of one's dwelling place as a destination. This noun form is less idiomatic for expressing the simple act of returning.

The underlying mechanism involves a blend of historical linguistic development and grammatical fossilization. The adverbial use of "home" derives from Old English, where the dative case of the word *hām* conveyed the sense of "to home." As case endings disappeared from English, this form was reanalyzed as an adverb, locking in the structure without a preposition. For locations like "school," "work," or "church," which follow the "go to [place]" pattern, the preposition remains necessary to denote movement toward a specific type of location, and their use without an article signifies engagement in the activity associated with that place. This creates a small class of location nouns that behave specially but do not acquire full adverbial status.

Ultimately, the correct usage is dictated by entrenched idiomatic patterns that native speakers acquire implicitly. Saying "go to home" introduces an unnecessary preposition to an adverbial form, while "go school" omits the essential preposition required by the noun. These are not interchangeable errors; they stem from different grammatical principles. Mastery of these patterns is a key marker of proficiency, as it reflects an understanding of how English categorizes certain common destinations either as inherent directions (home, downtown) or as activity-location nouns requiring a preposition (school, work, hospital).

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