Expressions using Themes (e.g. Collocations, IELTS, Business English)
Collocations are words that usually go together in English.
Here we are going to look at words that go with the word 'go' to make useful and popular expressions you will hear in social and professional contexts.
Go figure
'Go figure' is a phrase, most commonly used in the US, to express surprise, confusion, or wonder at something. It is a shortened form of 'go and figure that one out'.
Examples
Go bust
If somebody or something happens to 'go bust', they lose all of their money or fail financially. It tends to be used more in relation to a business.
Examples
No-go area
A 'no-go area' is a place that people are forbidden to enter, or one in which it is considered highly dangerous to do so. It can also be used figuratively in relation to a topic that is awkward or difficult to talk about.
Examples
Go public
If you 'go public' with something, you publicize or reveal something that had previously been private or kept secret. This collocation can also be used in relation to becoming a publicly-traded company, or, in other words, one in which anyone can invest.
Examples
Go smoothly
'Go' in this context means to develop or happen in a particular way. If, therefore, something was to 'go smoothly', it would develop or happen as planned or without difficulty. Included below are other common variations in this context.
Examples