Grammar

1.Last summer, we decided to spend a fine day going on a picnic in the country.

2.Last summer, we decided to spend a fine day on a picnic in the country.

Are both the sentences correct ?

thank you

Yes, both sentences make sense and are correct, although the second sentence is a little more clear.

It’s curious how you can drop the “going” verb and it still makes sense.

Other variations include (and I would write/speak it more this way than how you have written them):

On a fine day last summer, we decided to go to the countryside to have a picnic.
Last summer, we decided to spend a fine day in the countryside having a picnic.

Note that in some English speaking places they would distinguish between country and countryside. “Countryside” is a little less used these days. I would tend to say that “we went out into the country”, but this is probably a little Antipodean (Australia / New Zealand).

I hope this helps.

Simon

Thank you , simon
Your reply is really helpful ! :slight_smile: