goal
part of speech
noun (goal, goals)
meaning for a pupil
1) A goal is something you try to reach or do, like a goal to read 50 books. tree →
2) In games like soccer, hockey and netball, a goal is the point you score by getting the ball into the net. tree →
3) The goal is also the net or the posts the ball must go into. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: points scored in a game, or a target amount to reach (a goal of 100 pages); asks how many more are needed = goal − amount so far. In sport: score a goal, the goalkeeper guards the goal. In life: set a goal, reach your goal, work towards a goal. Phrases: score a goal, set a goal, reach a goal, own goal, goal post.
examples
- Mia scored 3 goals in the game. tree →
- Her goal is to read 50 books. tree →
- He has saved $30 toward his goal of $75. tree →
- The team scored 2 goals in each half. tree →
- My goal this term is to learn my times tables. tree →
- The ball hit the goal post and bounced out. tree →
- The goalkeeper stands in front of the goal. tree →
- They reached their goal of planting 100 trees. tree →
- Scoring into your own net is an own goal. tree →
- Meanwhile the Tortoise kept plodding on, and in time reached the goal. tree →
note
Countable: a goal, goals. A target: how many more are needed = goal − amount so far. Trap: goals scored by two teams are added only when the question asks for the total. Trap: if they went past the goal, extra = amount − goal.
In the corpora
- Focused practice means practising with full attention on one goal; watching the clock while repeating easy parts changes very little.
- Some animals survive because they work as a team, like a football side where one keeps goal while the others run.
- Instructions have a goal, a list of things needed, and numbered steps in order.
- "An own goal" (UK) means a mistake that harms oneself.
- "Fell short" means failed to reach the goal.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «goal» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.