Tim Bowen achieves his primary goal with these useful collocations.

You can have a short-term goal or a long-term goal and the latter can often be your ultimate goal, as in ‘Winning an Academy Award is always the ultimate goal of any actor, but I never expected it to happen’.

The most important goal is the main or primary goal, and there may also be a secondary goal. A goal can be clear, specific or stated, as in ‘It is the stated goal of this administration to reduce violent crime throughout the country’.

A goal can be achieved, in which case it is achievable, attainable or realistic, as in ‘Don’t go on a crash diet to lose weight. Set yourself small, achievable goals rather than trying to do it all at once’, or it can be difficult or impossible to achieve, in which case it will be ambitious, unattainable or unrealistic, as in ‘Stopping the nuclear programme, even through military means, is, quite simply, an unattainable goal’.

A goal may be personal, or it may be common or shared, as in ‘The sight of 13 countries cooperating for a common goal is both rare and welcome’.

Once you have established a goal for yourself or set a goal for someone else, you then need to pursue or work towards it, as in ‘We are all working towards the same goal’ .

With luck and a favourable wind, you will accomplish, achieve or reach that goal, as in ‘She has achieved her goal of representing her country at the highest level of her sport’.

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