SpeakUp

Grammar fix

a foregone conclusion

inevitable outcome

a result or decision that is certain to happen and cannot be avoided, often because everything leading up to it makes it obvious.

collocationC1occasional

Hear it in context

Notice where the phrase sounds natural.

  • With their star player back on the team, victory was a foregone conclusion.daily life
  • In my opinion, given the current trends in technology, it's almost a foregone conclusion that more jobs will become automated in the near future.IELTS speaking

Fix the pattern

Pattern: it is/was a foregone conclusion (that) + clause | something is a foregone conclusion

WrongIt was a forgone conclusion.

RightIt was a foregone conclusion.

Spelled 'foregone' (fore + gone), not 'forgone'.

Patternit is/was a foregone conclusion (that) + clause | something is a foregone conclusion

Use it right

Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.

Stiff The outcome was predetermined and inevitable from the very outset.

Natural The result was a foregone conclusion.

The idiom packs 'obvious in advance' into three words; the paraphrase is clunky.

Build natural chunks

Words that usually travel with it.

  • a foregone conclusion
    by no meansfar fromseemedtreated as

Don't confuse it

Unlike simply saying 'an obvious result' or 'an expected outcome', 'a foregone conclusion' emphasizes that there was never any real doubt about the result.

Try it in Daily Speak →