Collocations with GO in English: Go On, Go For, Go To and Go + -ing

Hello English learners. Welcome to a new lesson. Collocations with go are very common in English, but they can be confusing for learners. In this lesson, you will learn how to use go on, go for, go to, and go + -ing correctly, with clear explanations and useful example sentences.

Have you ever wondered whether you should say go on a trip or go for a trip? Verbs like go often appear in fixed expressions, and that is where many learners get confused.

The good news is that these collocations are not as frightening as they may seem. Once you learn the common patterns, they become much easier to use naturally.

In this lesson, we will look at four common patterns with go:

• go on
• go for
• go + -ing
• go to

Let’s clear it all up.

1. Go on

We usually use go on with nouns connected with travel, holidays, and outings.

Common collocations:

• go on a trip
• go on a cruise
• go on a tour
• go on a journey
• go on holiday
• go on a picnic
• go on a safari
• go on honeymoon
• go on a date
• go on foot
• go online

Examples:

• Michael is going on a business trip to Barcelona next week.
• They went on a city break to Prague.
• Carla has always wanted to go on a cruise around the Mediterranean, but her husband cannot stand sailing.
• Barry has taken a year off to go on a journey of self-discovery.
• Unfortunately, rain spoiled our plans to go on a picnic.
• We usually go on holiday in July, but this year we are going in August.
• While Sandra was singing in a band, they went on tour around Brazil.
• We are going on a safari to Uganda this summer.
• Right after the wedding, they went on honeymoon to the Lake District.
• There were no buses, so we had to go on foot.
• How often do you go online?
• Sarah went on a date with Malcolm last night.

Tip: We normally say go on a trip, not go for a trip.

2. Go for

We usually use go for when talking about short activities, especially ones we choose to do for pleasure, health, or relaxation.

Common collocations:

• go for a walk
• go for a meal
• go for a swim
• go for a drink
• go for a run
• go for a jog
• go for a drive
• go for a coffee
• go for a check-up

Examples:

• After lunch, Jack suggested going for a walk.
• When we were in Rome, we went for a meal in a lovely little restaurant.
• Philip suggested that we go for a swim.
• After hours of driving, we stopped and went for a coffee at a café by the road.
• Let’s go for a run. It’s a beautiful day.
• Do you think we could go for a drink after work?
• Simon will be late because he has gone for a dental check-up.
• Instead of watching television, we could go for a jog along the beach.
• I’d love to go for a drive in the countryside this afternoon.

Another meaning of go for

Go for can also mean choose something.

• I’ll go for the grilled chicken rather than the burger.
• We finally went for the blue sofa.

And it can also mean try to achieve something:

• If you want that job, go for it!
• She decided to go for a promotion.

Note: We do not usually say go for a trip when we mean travel. We say go on a trip.

3. Go + -ing

We often use go + -ing to talk about sports, outdoor activities, and free-time activities.

This pattern is extremely common in English.

Common collocations:

• go running
• go camping
• go shopping
• go hiking
• go dancing
• go fishing
• go cycling
• go climbing
• go skiing
• go kayaking
• go skating
• go surfing
• go swimming

Examples:

• John gets up at five every morning to go running.
• We usually go camping during the summer, but this year we are staying in a hotel.
• My parents go shopping on Saturday mornings.
• I’d love to go hiking in Spain next summer.
• I love this song — let’s go dancing!
• John goes fishing at weekends to relax.
• Mary usually goes cycling along the river when the weather is nice.
• I think it is dangerous to go climbing alone.
• The Smiths usually go skiing in January.
• When we were in Slovenia, we went kayaking down the Sava.
• We went ice skating at the rink in the city centre.
• If the waves are high enough, we can go surfing in the morning.
• You should never go swimming on a full stomach.

Tip: This structure is especially common with activities we do for enjoyment.

4. Go to

We usually use go to before places and destinations.

Common collocations:

• go to bed
• go to church
• go to school
• go to the doctor
• go to a concert
• go to work
• go to the cinema
• go to the mountains
• go to a meeting

Examples:

• Why do you always go to bed so early?
• When I was little, we used to go to church every Sunday.
• Our children go to a nearby primary school.
• If the pain does not stop, you should go to the doctor.
• Shall we go to a concert on Saturday?
• Greg hates driving, so he usually goes to work by train.
• I think we should go to the cinema first and have dinner afterwards.
• We usually go to the seaside on holiday, but this year we are going to the mountains.
• Sorry, I can’t come to your party — I have to go to a meeting.

When we do not use to

There are some common expressions where English does not use to before the place.

Examples:

• After school, all the children went home.
  (not: went to home)
• We have to go downtown to pick up our friends.
  (not: go to downtown)
• They are going abroad next week.
  (not: going to abroad)
• Come on, it’s late — let’s go upstairs.
  (not: go to upstairs)

These expressions behave a little differently, so they are worth memorising.

Quick summary

Here is an easy way to remember the patterns:

Go on

Use it with trips, holidays, tours, and outings

• go on a trip
• go on holiday
• go on a cruise

Go for

Use it with short activities or when you mean choose

• go for a walk
• go for a drink
• go for the salad

Go + -ing

Use it for sports and leisure activities

• go swimming
• go shopping
• go hiking

Go to

Use it for places

• go to school
• go to work
• go to the cinema

Common mistakes

Here are a few mistakes learners often make:

• go for a trip → go on a trip
• go to home → go home
• go to abroad → go abroad
• go to shopping → go shopping

Those little prepositions can be terribly bossy, but once you get used to them, they behave.

Final thoughts

Collocations with go are very common in everyday English, so it is well worth learning them properly. Instead of translating directly from your own language, try to learn each expression as a fixed phrase.

That way, you will begin to say things naturally:

• go on a trip
• go for a walk
• go swimming
• go to school

The more collocations you learn, the more natural your English will sound.

Collocations with GO Practice Worksheet

Related posts:

Verb + Preposition Collocations in English

Verb + Noun + Preposition Collocations

Collocations with MAKE and DO

Collocations Related to Travel and Tourism

Phrasal Verbs Related to Sports

Phrasal Verbs with GO

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