Meaning trap
go for
be sold at (price)
to be sold for a particular amount of money, especially at an auction or in a financial context.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
to be sold for a particular amount of money, especially at an auction or in a financial context.
'go for' also has the more basic meaning 'choose or try to get'; this is the advanced sense.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- The rare manuscript went for over £50,000 at the auction.business
- At Sotheby’s, several paintings went for record-breaking sums, highlighting the growing demand for contemporary art.IELTS speaking
Fix the pattern
Pattern: go for + amount/price
WrongThese flats are going at £300,000.
RightThese flats are going for £300,000.
It's 'go FOR + price', not 'go at'.
Patterngo for + amount/price
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'Go for + price' is the natural way to say what something sold for. 'Was sold for' is more formal and passive.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
go for + pricea fortunenext to nothing£500double that
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B1 sense ('choose or try to get') and the B2 sense ('attack'), this sense refers specifically to the price at which something is sold, not to a choice or an action.
Related
- go for (choose or try to get) — 'go for' also has the more basic meaning 'choose or try to get'; this is the advanced sense.