Good to Go

intro.

• ¹
  Imagine this: You are planning a road trip. Naturally, the first thing you need to do is pick a destination. Then, you probably call your friends and invite them. Next, you book hotels or camping spots to stay at along the way. After that, you make a checklist of supplies that you will need. Finally, you buy all of the supplies and pack up your car. The big day is finally here. Your road trip is good to go!

  
  

  We use the expression “good to go” to talk about being ready or prepared for something. You can be good to go on a big plan, like a vacation or party. You can also be good to go on a small plan. For example, if your friend asks you to come over and watch a movie, you might text back, “I’m good to go!”

  
  

  Dominique thinks the team is good to go for Sheila’s birthday party, but there might be a couple of small details that they forgot! Watch the video to find out what these are.

  
  

  
  
• Dialogue

Dominique: OK, everyone, I think we’re good to go for the party. I’ll run through the checklist. Cake? 

Jordin:  They were out, but I got cupcakes.

Dominique:  Great! Candles? 

Jordin:  Check.

Dominique:  Flowers? 

Andy_H:  Check!

Dominique:  Well, that’s quite a bouquet. OK. 

Andy_H:  Is it too much? 

Kelsey:  It’s perfect.

Dominique:  Entertainment? 

Kelsey:  Check!

Dominique:  OK, I think we’re ready to go. 

Jordin:  I think we’re missing something.

Dominique:  Oh no! What did we forget?

Jordin:  Well, has anybody seen Sheila? 

Dominique:  Oh! I was so busy planning for the party…

Kelsey:  I did, earlier… or was that yesterday? 

Andy_H:  I was so nervous, I spent most of the day trying to pick out flowers.

Kelsey:  It was yesterday, yeah. So, no. 

Dominique:  Where could she be? I told her we were meeting here.

Kelsey:  Maybe, she’s just late.

Jordin:  That’s not like her.

Dominique:  Well, there’s no point in being good to go if our birthday girl isn’t going to show up! I just hope she’s OK.

Jordin:  Let’s just wait and see.

Discussion

• ¹
  Dominique and the team are going through the checklist for Shelia’s birthday party. Jordin bought candles and cupcakes. Kelsey is playing the music. And Andy bought a huge bouquet for Sheila. There’s only one thing missing… Sheila! 

  
  

  No one can remember seeing her recently. Kelsey thinks she might have seen her yesterday. Andy doesn’t know when he last saw her. He was so nervous about picking out flowers that he forgot! Dominique is worried. There is no point in throwing a party if their birthday girl isn’t going to be there. Everyone hopes she is OK. Jordin says they will just have to wait and see.

  
  

  Have you ever been late to your own party? Do you prefer cake or cupcakes?

Grammar Point

• ¹
  Direct vs. Reported Speech

  
  

  Dominique doesn’t know where Sheila could be. She says, “I told her we were meeting here.” Dominique uses reported speech.

  
  

  Direct and reported speech are two different ways to say what someone else said.

  
  

  In direct speech, we quote the exact words that a person said. We putquotation marks around their words and add a speech tag such as “he said” or “she asked” before or after the quote. For example:

  
  

  “Are you free tonight?” she asked.

  
  

  “I failed a test last week,” she said.

  
  

  He asked, “Have you seen any good movies lately?”

  
  

  We can also use direct speech to say what someone is saying right now, as in: She says, “Hurry up.”

  
  

  Reported speech is another way of saying what someone said, but without quotation marks. Reported speech doesn’t usually repeat the words exactly as the person said them. It typically changes the tense of the verbs. For example, if the speaker used a present tense verb, we change it to the past tense. If the speaker used a past tense verb, we change it to past perfect. We also change pronouns and time expressions.

  
  

  See how the quotations given in direct speech above look in reported speech. Notice the changes in verb tense:

  
  

  She asked if I was free that night.

  
  

  She said she had failed an exam the week before.

  
  

  He asked if I had seen any good movies lately.

  
  

  In the example sentence, Dominique uses the simple past tense verb were. This means that when she was speaking to Sheila, she probably used the present tense.

  
  

  
  

  Which sentence uses reported speech correctly, “She asked me if I had seen the movie,” or, “She asked me if I saw the movie”?

Vocab

checklist n.

Definition

list of items that one marks off or crosses off as they are finished

Example

I made a checklist for planning Dan’s birthday party.

good to go expr.

Definition

ready, prepared

Example

I’ve got everything I need for my camping trip. I’m good to go!

run through v.

Definition

review, go over

Example

OK, let’s run through our plan one more time.

cupcake n.

Definition

small cake for one person

Example

I like it when parties have cupcakes, because they are the perfect size.

check expr.

Definition

done; I’ve got it

Example

Clean the kitchen? Check! Fold laundry? Check! OK, all my chores are done!

bouquet n.

Definition

bunch of flowers

Example

There were big bouquets of roses on every table at the wedding.

entertainment n.

Definition

music or show for an event

Example

We’ve booked the venue for Larry’s party, but we’re still looking for entertainment. Is your band free?

yesterday n.

Definition

day before today

Example

I don’t want pizza for dinner again. We ate that yesterday.

pick out v.

Definition

select, choose

Example

I love to pick out clothes for other people.

no point in expr.

Definition

it does not make sense to do something, there is no purpose to something

Example

There’s no point in going shopping if you didn’t bring your wallet!

From <http://www.englishbaby.com/lesson_vocab/list/7247?context=portable#16600>