THE LANGUAGE LOVERS’ CORNER 34: JUST FOR KICKS
Notes for language teachers and advanced students of the English language
by Oriel E. Villagarcia at newtoolsforteachers@yahoo.com.ar
I. FURTHER MEANINGS OF FAMILIAR WORDS
Today’s word is GO
Here are some uses of the word GO which your students may be unfamiliar with:
1. Why did she have to go (and) ruin it? The word go in this case is used for emphasis. In American English the word and is usually omitted.
2. Don’t go spreading rumours about him. Again, the word go emphasizes the continuity of the action expressed in the following word. This is an informal usage.
3. There’s no more milk in the fridge, it’s all gone. I left my notes on the table and now they’ve gone (Brit. Engl.)/’re gone (Am. Engl.)
4. He went peacefully in the early hours of the morning, i.e. he died.
5. His old car went for only three hundred dollars, i.e. it was sold.
6. The batteries in my radio are going. I’ll have to buy new ones, i.e. losing their power, becoming weak.
7. The milk has gone sour. She has gone crazy, i.e. become.
8. It’s Sunday, the stores are closed and I cannot buy food anywhere. I’ll just have to go hungry. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed. My complaints have gone unanswered. The word go describes a particular condition or situation, in this case remain..
9. He challenged me to go like this with my ears., i.e. to move my ears in a particular way.
10. I can’t remember how the story goes, i.e. the details of the story, the plot, etc.
11. I desperately need a toilet. I have to go, i.e. use one.
12. I was saved by the bell. It went right at the time when the teacher asked me a question which I had no idea how to answer, i.e. it rang.
13. What he says goes, i.e. we have an obligation to do what he says.
14. How do dogs go in your mother tongue, i.e. what sounds do they make?
15. The bridge should be repaired right away, because it could go at any moment now, i.e. collapse.
16. My watch isn’t going, i.e. it is not working properly.
17. I’d like a cheeseburger and a coke to go, i.e. to take away and eat /drink somewhere else.
18. How does that famous song by Frank Sinatra go? What is the tune/melody like?
19. I asked her whether she would accept my invitation and she went, “Are you kidding?” i.e. she said. This usage is informal.
20. Those books are too big. They just won’t go in that box, i.e. fit.
21. You failed to return the books when they were due. I’ll let it go this once, but next time, you’ll have to pay a three dollar fine, I‘ll overlook it.
22. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll give it a go, I’ll try to do something.
23. If something is a go, it takes place as planned. Our trip is a go. This is an informal Am. Engl. usage.
24. If somebody is always on the go, they are busy all the time.
25. If you say that you have several projects on the go, you mean you are actively working on them. This is chiefly a Brit. Engl. usage.
26. The phrase no go means that something cannot be done, or that it doesn’t work or that you are not allowed to do it. We tried to fix the computer but it was no go. We asked our boss for permission to arrive ten minutes late but he said no go.
27. To make a go of something is to be able to carry it out successfully. He tried to run the new company but could not make a go of it.
28. If somebody has plenty of go, they have a lot of energy. This is a British Engl. expression.
29. He was charging 10 dollars a go to allow you to use his computer, i.e. $10 per person.
30. Whose go is it? Whose turn is it? This is a British English expression.
II. OVER TO YOU
The following sentences involve the use of the word go in some ready made combinations. Fill in the blanks with the missing word.
1. It’s getting late. We’d better …… going.
2. There are no fixed rules. ……….. goes.
3. Easy……., easy go. This is an informal expression usually used in spoken English to talk about money.
4. I don’t usually go a ……… on abstract fiction. I prefer a story with a simple plot. This expression is used mostly in informal British English.
5. Going, going, ……… This is a standard phrase used at an auction.
6. One of the meanings of to go all the …… is to have sex.
7. When she throws a party, she likes to go all ….., without worrying about the expenses but providing plenty of food, drink, etc.
8. I’ve been tolerant, but this time I think you’ve gone too….. , i.e. you’ve done something I cannot accept.
9. He bought his mother a paperback as a present, but his sister went him one …. and bought her a hardbound edition.
10. If you say that all ……..(are) go, you mean that everything is working properly so that you can proceed with a given course of action (usually after obstacles have been removed, and corrections have been made, etc.)
Find the answers at the bottom
III. MAKING FRIENDS WITH PHRASAL VERBS
Fill in with missing particle(s).
1. She had promised to marry him, but on second thoughts she went ….. on her word.
2. Our dog went …… the burglar and he was lucky he was able to run away.
3. I don’t really go …. …… card games.
4. After the sun goes ……it usually gets cooler.
5. He went …..and ….about the places he had visited in his whole life (talked continuously).
6. The conference went ….. successfully.
7. Because of the economic crisis many companies have unfortunately gone ….
Answers at the bottom
IV. DO THESE WORDS EXIST IN ENGLISH?
And if so, what do they mean, and if the don’t what idea lay behind?
1. SPLENDIFEROUS 2. BEAUTEOUS 3. GYRATE
4. PROSELYTE 5. APPELLATE 6. AGARRATE
Answers at the bottom
V. DECIDE WHETHER TRUE OR FALSE
1. In the phrase pulchritudinous movie stars what is being highlighted is their neatness.
2. The opposite of thrifty is extravagant.
3. If you say that the critics were lavish with praise you mean that they were reluctant to give praise.
4. Munificent means extremely good looking.
5. A bequest is a complaint that you file when you have been swindled.
Answers at the bottom
VI. CHOOSE THE ODD ONE OUT if any!!!
The words in the following groups are meant to express basically the same concept, but there may one or two words which do not go with the others. There are three concepts which you are to identify and the words that differ from them. Example: table chair desk apple (concept: furniture: odd one out apple).
1. gorgeous comely stunning ravishing homely
2. binge gormandize stuff pig out gorge
3. blowhard lissome motormouth garrulous loquacious
Answers at the bottom
ANSWERS TO THE EXERCISES
OVER TO YOU
1. We’d better get going. 2. Anything goes. 3. Easy come, easy go. 4. go a bundle.
5. Going, going, gone. 6. to go all the way. 7. to go all out. 8. gone too far. 9.she went him one better. 10. all systems go.
MAKING FRIENDS WITH PHRASAL VERBS
1. went back 2. went for 3. go in for 4. goes in 5. went on and on 6. went off
7. gone under
DO THESE WORDS EXIST IN ENGLISH?
All of them do except for number 6, AGARRATE
DECIDE WHETHER TRUE OR FALSE
1. False. Pulchritudinous means beautiful.
2. True. You can also say that the opposite of extravagant is restrained.
3. False. Lavish means very generous, in this case, giving freely.
4. False. Munificent means very generous, as in the phrase a munificent benefactor.
5. False. A bequest is the money or property you have left to be given to someone after your death.
CHOOSE THE ODD ONE OUT
1. Main concept: beautiful. Odd one out, homely (particularly in American English)
2. Main concept: eat excessively, overeat. All five items belong in this category.
3. Main concept: talking too much. Odd one out: lissome.
TIME TO SAY GOODBYE
We hope you have enjoyed the selection of words for this, our thirty third issue. We are aware of the fact that some of the exercises are quite challenging, and at the risk of sounding reiterative or rather repetitive we would like to encourage you to look up the words we are offering in your dictionaries, or in the Internet, where you will find a wealth of opportunities to enrich your English.
We are glad to make a tentative announcement: our popular workshop on VULGAR ENGLISH will most likely be held in Buenos Aires on March 24 as well as the workshop on FUN WITH SLANG the same day. Check the announcements in the next issue of this bulletin in the section TOOLS FOR TEACHERS, where further details of venue, fees and how to register will be given. Or you may to contact us at newtoolsforteachers@yahoo.com.ar
Oriel E. Villagarcía holds an M.A. in Linguistics for English Language Teaching from the University of Lancaster, and was on the Advisory Panel for the MACMILLAN ENGLISH DICTIONARY (MED), First Edition. He is a British Council and a Fulbright Scholar, and he did graduate work at the University of Texas. He is available for workshops on language
or methods throughout the country and abroad. He can be reached at newtoolsforteachers@yahoo.com.ar
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