Do you have a favorite dish that you like to bring to parties?
Have you heard people talk about their “go to” dish or favorite thing?
When you hear people talk about their preferences or favorite things then you will often hear the term “go to.”
We’re going to look at how to use this phrase, and why talking about your favorite things or preferences can be a great way of connecting.
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Talking About Your Favorite Things
Do you have things that you use all the time?
Do you have a favorite dish that you like to bring when you go over to a friends house?
It may be that when you go to Thanksgiving dinner somewhere, you always like to bring the green bean casserole.
The term “go to” is one that you may have heard in English.
This is an idiom that a student used recently that was very impressive.
It’s always fun to highlight situations where a student or a non native English speaker says something impressive, and this is a perfect instance of that.
The term “go to” is so natural sounding, and yet it’s a really great thing to teach because it can help you in conversations.
So what does it mean when you say that something is your “go to?”
It means that something is reliable, or that you know it will be good.
It’s kind of automatic to you or you have done it before.
This is a more informal phrase, but it is interesting because it refers to something that you always do.
Common Examples of Your Go To Favorites
Everyone has things that are their ” go to” favorites.
You probably have a favorite dish or a favorite TV show that you always end up back with.
These are your “tried and true” favorites and they work well, so you stick with them.
It may be the green bean casserole at Thanksgiving, or a favorite “go to” appetizer you always bring to parties.
Maybe it’s a favorite song that you always like to sing in the car or listen to when you’re sad.
It may be a song that you always do at karaoke because you love to sing it.
Everyone has things that are their favorites, and they can be the very things that you always fall back on.
If they work well for you then they can easily become your “go to” items.
Using This In Conversation
There are actually a couple of different ways that you can use “go to” in a conversation.
This makes it a unique phrase and it can make for a fun addition to conversation.
You can use it as an adjective or a noun, and so it presents a really interesting addition.
- Go To Descriptively: This uses it as part of a sentence and helps to describe what you are talking about. This is when you would use it as an adjective because it describes the show or whatever you are talking about. You might say “I love to watch Friends. It’s my go-to TV show if I’m having a bad day and need to be cheered up.”
- Just In Itself: This is when you are letting “go to” stand alone and speak for itself. In this case it’s more of a verb because it says what you are doing. You might say something like “I love Friends. It’s my go-to!”
- Talking About People: You can use it to talk about people that are your favorites too. You might use this to describe somebody who you always run to when you have something to share or need something. You might say “Rachel is my go to gal if I need to vent about my day.”
- For Recommendations: This is a common way to use this in a descriptive way. You may have a favorite thing that you want to recommend to somebody else. You might say something like “Oh my go to here is the chocolate cake–it’s amazing and you should totally order it!”
This is a versatile phrase because it can be used in so many different ways.
Try one of these and see how it takes your conversation to another level in a fun way.
Using This As A Connection Skill
It may sound unusual to you that talking about your personal preferences can be a connection skill.
The truth though is that we all like to talk about your favorite things, our interests, or our preferences.
This lets you talk about habits, preferences, or choices that help to shape who you are as a person.
This is a good conversation starter because it allows you to get to know the person you are talking to.
It also gives them a good glimpse into who you are, and that can be a great way to make a connection.
You might say something like “what’s your go to party trick or best story?”
This opens up the conversation and allows you to both talk about something that you really enjoy.
You will find that you are at ease in the conversation, and it immediately puts the other person in that same frame of mind too.
So talking about your “go to” favorites can be an excellent way to start an enjoyable conversation and to connect.
Takeaway
When you talk about your “go to” it’s a really fun and unique way to talk about yourself and your preferences.
It’s a different sounding way to do it as it’s slightly informal but really fun and adds personality.
It can help with connection and starting conversations.
We all like to talk about our favorite things, and so you may find that using this phrase can be a great way to express your own.
Try it and see how this really gets the conversation going in a fun way!
If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments section.
We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
