"go out" vs "go on"

[Libretto]

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #164 "Idioms with the phrasal verb go", question 2

Would you rather ......... for a picnic or a meal at a restaurant?

(a) go off
(b) go out
(c) go on
(d) go over

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #164 "Idioms with the phrasal verb go", answer 2

Would you rather go out for a picnic or a meal at a restaurant?

Correct answer: (b) go out

Your answer was: incorrect
Would you rather go on for a picnic or a meal at a restaurant?
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why use "go out" instead of "go on"?

Libretto

[Alan]

Hi,

The suggestion here is that 'go out' refers to the idea of leaving your home and having a meal in a different place. 'Go on' can often mean 'continue' and wouldn't really make sense in that sentence.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Reflections

[Yankee]

.
A very common collocation is "go on a picnic", but the test sentence includes the word for, so the phrasal verb go on doesn't work here.
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Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Alan]

And of course you can go for a picnic.

Alan
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Head expressions for you