The next word in our vocabulary boost series is GO. GO is a high frequency verb that can be used as a synonym of travel, become, leave, depart, proceed or pass. There are numerous collocations and phrasal verbs that are formed using GO.
As recommended in our START method (HERE), you should always learn vocabulary as a short phrase and relate new words to synonyms and use them. Click (HERE) and (HERE) for advice on how to learn more vocabulary and HERE for an example of a great strategy to learn new words.
GO can be used with an adjective to have the meaning ´turn into or become´, for example go crazy means to become crazy.
Examples:
Go mad – get angry
Go red – be embarrassed
Go white – feel dizzy/in shock
Go green – feel sick
TRY OUR VOCABULARY LEARNING METHOD (HERE) WITH THESE COLLOCATIONS
Collocations:
To learn new collocations and word patterns you should create phrases using them and also do exercises (HERE)
Go well (be successful) My studies are going well, I always get good grades
Go badly (not be successful) The exam went badly and I couldn´t answer the final question
Go right (work according to plan) It has all gone right for me recently
Go wrong (not work properly) I could have gone wrong, but luckily it didn´t
Go a long way (endure, last a long time) A smile goes a long way
Go abroad (travel to another country) I want to go abroad soon
Go amiss (go wrong/be absent) Our star player went amiss so we lost
Go astray (not follow the rules) My sister went astray in her adolescence
Have a go (make an attempt) It is worth having a go
Go (+ing) = go swimming, go jogging, go running, go cycling
All systems go (be ready) All systems are go so we can proceed
Go blind (lose your sight) If you have diabetes, you might go blind
Go bankrupt (lose all your money) I have lost everything, gone bankrupt
Go on foot (walk) I would prefer to go on foot
Go online (use the internet) I went online to check my email
Go to war (fight) I would hate it if we went to war with China
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Phrasal verbs:
The learning of phrasal verbs is best done using this method (HERE)
Go about (undertake) How would you like to go about the task?
Go across (traverse) We should go across the river on a boat
Go ahead (advance) My boss always goes ahead with his plans
Go against (contradict) It´s not a good idea to go against the rules
Go along with (follow the crowd) I would go along with him if I were you
Go out (leave the house) I fancy going out this afternoon
Go (a)round (satisfy a requirement) There is plenty of food to go around
Go at (attack or do something enthusiastically) The dog went at the food
Go away (leave or take a trip) I´d like to go away soon
Go back (return) When would you like to go back?
Go by (pass time) 4 years have gone by since we last spoke
Go down (decrease) Prices never seem to go down these days
Go forward (advance) Our plans will go forward as planned
Go in (enter) Take off your coats and you can go in!
To learn how to use stay you need to practice and put these words and collocations into your own words to be able to remember them.
[…] great way to improve collocations is to take a key word like KEEP, GO, STAY or TAKE and write all of the collocations that you know with that collocation. Every time […]