A student asked me “Dave, what is the difference between ‘here you go,’ ‘there you are,’ there you go,’ ‘way to go,’ and ‘here we go?’” We ended up having a good discussion about these common phrases and when to use them. Here’s how you can use these expressions in your life.

Here you go/Here you are: We use these to announce that something we want is here. They mean the same thing.

Customer: “Medium coffee, please.”

Barista: “Here you go. Careful, it’s hot.”

Customer: “Could you pass the sugar?”

Barista: “Sure, here you are.”

There you go: This is mostly used in arguments, and means something like “I told you so!”

Student A: I think Vancouver is the largest city in Canada.”

Student B: “No, Toronto is larger.”

Student A: “I’m going to ask Google.”

Student B: “You’ll find that I am right…”

Student A: “Oh, Toronto is the biggest! I was wrong.”

Student B: “There you go.”

Here we go: This shows that we are starting an activity.

Driver: “Are you ready?”

Passenger: “Yes!”

Driver: “Ok, here we go!”

Way to go: This means “Congratulations!”

Student: “I got 89% in English class!”

Parent: “Good job! I knew you would pass your test! Way to go!”

I just read this article about words that are more popular in Canada than in other places. Some of then have come up in my vocabulary classes, like “bachelor suite,” “toque,” and “parkade.” The author includes examples and pictures to help you learn the new words, so check out 55 Canadian Words!