Learn how to use the phrasal verb 'GO ON' correctly like a native speaker with a detailed explanation & examples.
Hello and welcome to my blog all about English phrasal verbs. In this post we are looking at the phrasal verb 'go on'.
'Go on' is really common in English. We use it a lot in many different ways. During my research for the post I realised that 'go on' has many uses, so it is no surprise that it is one of the most common phrasal verbs in everyday use in the English language. This is a long post, so please stick with it and hopefully you will learn some new ways to use this versatile little construction....
KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | ​6 |
Literal meaning | Yes |
Idiomatic meaning | Yes |
Separable | No |
Past forms | Went on / Gone on |
British or American | Both |
For more explanation of the terms in the table above, click here
MEANING 1: Literal
CEFR Language Level | A2 - Elementary |
Usage | Common |
Separable | No |
Potential synonyms | ​To get on, to travel on, to ride |
Commonly used with | ​Bus, train, airplane, ride, journey, trip, diet, internet, website |
To begin with, as per usual, let's take a look at the words which make up the phrasal verb "go on" in order to understand its literal meaning.
Firstly, we have the super common verb "to go", meaning to travel or move to another place. Then we have the preposition "on", which means to be physically in contact and supported by something.
Logically, when we combine these two words, it gives us a number of potential meanings. One of which is moving to a destination or end point which is on something and another is going to a place whilst being on something e.g. a bus or train.
Although I mentioned above that 'go on' used literally gives us the meaning of moving to an end point, which is on something, it should be noted that 'get on' is normally used here by native speakers to express this physical movement or period of transition from the start point to the end point which is on something. Consider the examples below:
My car has broken down, so I have to go on the bus to work tomorrow.
I have broken my leg, so I found it very difficult to get on the bus.
In the first example 'go on' is used as the person is talking about travelling on the bus for the entire journey from their home to their work. In the second option 'get on' is needed as the person is referring to the physical movement from the street onto the bus.
It should be noted however that 'go on' is normally used to talk about a change of state or to start an activity e.g. 'to go on a diet' or 'to go on holiday'. We also use it to talk about fairground rides such as a roller coaster or a big wheel.
EXTRA TIPS TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE
There are a couple of specific situations in which 'go on' is used literally by native speakers and the meaning of this is often derived from the context.
The first means to go on to a stage to begin a performance, so it is used to talk about actors, musicians, comedians or anyone giving a performance on a stage. This is used specifically for when someone's performance begins and not for when someone just walks onto a stage for non-performance purposes.
The second situation is when a sports player goes on to a field in order to start playing a game. This is more common when they join after the game has started in order to replace another team member, as a substitute. This is commonly used with team games such as football, rugby and American football.
Examples of usage....
I go on in 5 minutes, so I don't have time to talk. INTENDED MEANING: My performance starts in 5 minutes, so I can't talk now.
The substitute striker went on in the 88th minute and scored the winning goal. INTENDED MEANING: The replacement strike started playing the game right before the end and scored a goal, causing his team to win.
MEANING 2: To continue
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Separable | No |
Potential synonyms | To continue, to keep on, to keep going, to persist, to carry on |
The first idiomatic usage of 'go on' in today's post is one of the most common usages that we will look at and means 'to continue'.
Sometimes this can be to talk about a state or specific action which continues in the same way as before without specifying what the state or action is. In these cases we often add the words 'in this way' or 'like this/that' after 'go on'.
Examples of usage....
I haven't had a job for several months now. I can't go on like this for much longer! INTENDED MEANING: I cannot continue to survive without any income for very long.
How much longer do you think we can go on like this? INTENDED MEANING: How much more time can this situation continue to exist.
Alternatively is also very common to specify what the action is that will continue. This can often (but not always) be after a temporary pause in the action.
Examples of usage....
I intend to go on learning Mandarin until I am completely fluent. INTENDED MEANING: I want to continue learning Mandarin until I am fluent.
Are you just going to go on working there for the rest of your life? INTENDED MEANING: Will you continue to work there for your entire career?
I've injured my knee and I need to rest but I intend to go on running when it is better. INTENDED MEANING: Due to a hurt knee I can't jog at the moment but I want to do it again in the future.
When stating the action that is continuing, you need to use the 'ing' progressive form of the verb.
EXTRA TIP TO SOUND LIKE A NATIVE
'Go on' is commonly used as an imperative to ask someone to continue what they are saying, especially if the person pauses what they are saying temporarily or if they are taking a long time to say it and the other person is impatient to hear the information.
Moreover, 'go on!' is also used extremely commonly by native speakers as a way of encouraging someone to do something, particularly if the other person expresses doubts or is reluctant in some way.
MEANING 3: To happen
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Separable | No |
Potential synonyms | To happen, to take place |
This next meaning of 'go on' means 'to happen' or 'to take place' and is really commonly used, so I am sure that you will have heard it many times in conversations.
This usage of 'go on' is often used in the progressive or continuous form, however it is also possible to use it with simple and perfect aspect tenses.
From my own personal perspective, I think we tend to use 'going on' a lot more when we are describing a present situation that is in progress, whereas we tend to use 'happen' more to talk about future plans or something that happened in the past. This isn't a set rule though and we frequently do use happen and 'go on' interchangeably in all of these situations.
Examples of usage....
What's going on here? INTENDED MEANING: What is happening here?
This place is a mess, what has been going on? INTENDED MEANING: What has been happening here to have caused such a mess.
I'm not sure what is going on outside but it doesn't sound good. INTENDED MEANING: I don't know what is happening outside but it sounds bad.
MEANING 4: To talk a lot
​CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Separable | No |
Potential synonyms | To ramble, to prattle, to babble, to harp on |
For this fourth usage of 'go on', we are looking specifically at a usage which is very common in British English and means to to talk a lot, especially if the person is talking about one particular subject which happens to be quite boring.
If we want to say that the person talks a lot in a dull or boring way in general as part of their character, we can just say that the person 'goes on', which expresses this feeling very neatly. If the person talks about a particular subject that is boring, then we need the additional preposition 'about + the subject'.
If you want to add extra emphasis to how boring the person is, we can repeat the word 'on' ad infinitum, however an extra one or two times is normal.
I, personally, tend to use this verb to describe a conversation where the person talks so much that all you want is for it to end.
Examples of usage....
Gosh! Professor Smith goes on in his lectures, doesn't he! INTENDED MEANING: The professor has a tendency to talk a lot in a boring way during his lectures.
My Dad was going on about politics again last night. INTENDED MEANING: The person's father was talking for a long time about politics in an uninteresting way.
Helen was going on and on about her new boyfriend and i couldn't get a word in edgeways.* INTENDED MEANING: Helen was talking incessantly about her new boyfriend and the other person was not able to say anything.
* To not be able to get a word in edgeways is an idiom to mean that you cannot say anything during a conversation as the other person is talking too much.
EXTRA TIP TO SOUND LIKE A NATIVE
'To go on at someone' is a variation of this usage and is an informal way to mean to repeatedly criticise someone or to complain to someone many times about the way that they behave (in an effort to change their behaviour). It is also possible to repeat the word 'on' here for added emphasis. Again, this usage is mainly British.
Examples of usage....
Lisa's keeps going on at her children to tidy up the house but she doesn't ever tidy it up herself. INTENDED MEANING: Lisa shouts at her children repeatedly to clean up the house but she never tidies it up herself.
Our parents have been going on and on and on at us for months about when we are going to get married. INTENDED MEANING: The couple's parents are not happy that they are not married and have been asking the couple when they are going to get married for a long time.
MEANING 5: To pass (time)
​CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
​Separable | No |
​Potential synonyms | To pass, to go by, to wear on |
Our fifth meaning of 'go on' is perhaps a variation of the second meaning that we looked at, i.e. to continue, however in this particular usage, we are concerned primarily with time, or more specifically, the passing of time. This form is often preceded in sentences with the word 'as' + the time reference.
Examples of usage....
As the morning went on, the rain started letting up. INTENDED MEANING: The rain became less intense over time during the morning.
There is no reason why the TV show continues to do so well as the years go on. INTENDED MEANING: Nobody knows why the TV show continues to be popular year after year.
Apart from time, we are also able to use this form of 'go on' with other nouns that describe something that happens over a period of time.
Examples of usage....
As the meeting went on, I became more and more tired. INTENDED MEANING: Over the duration of the meeting I gradually became more tired.
Quite a lot of people left the conference as it went on. INTENDED MEANING: A lot of people left the conference over time.
MEANING 6: To start working
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Separable | No |
Potential synonyms | To come on, to turn on |
So, moving on to our sixth meaning now....well done if you have made it this far!
This next meaning of 'go on' is used particularly with electrical appliances and devices and simply means that they turn on, start working or become operational.
This is often (but not always) when they start working without human intervention e.g. automatically or from a timer. If we want to say that a person caused the device to start working, we tend to use 'turn on' more.
Examples of usage....
In winter the lights go on at 5pm every evening. INTENDED MEANING: During winter the lights start working at 5pm each day (this could be automatically).
The washing machine goes on every night as it is cheaper than during the daytime. INTENDED MEANING: The person uses the washing machine overnight to save money.
A COUPLE OF EXTRA SPECIFIC USAGES
Do you think you can do a few more?
There are some other usages of 'go on' that I want to make you aware of. These are quite limited in their scope and so I don't think they need entire sections to themselves.
The first meaning is to do with information and if you have enough of it to be able to make a decision or take action about something. If we have a lot of information in order to make a decision we would say "we have a lot to go on" and if we do not have much information, we might say "we don't have much to go on".
The next meaning involves adding the extra preposition 'to', to give 'to go on to', which is used to talk about something that a person did after doing something else. This is often used to talk about people's careers or different achievements and accomplishments in their lives. It can also be used to talk about when people go to a second destination after they have been somewhere else first.
The third and final additional meaning (and final meaning in this post) is used to talk about people's ages, especially when they act a lot older than they are in reality. For example, if someone talks about how old their child is, they might say "she's 10, going on 20", to mean that she acts a lot more like an adult than a normal 10-year old. This usage is always used in the 'ing' progressive form.
Examples of usage....
The police didn't have much to go on but they arrested the suspected murderer nevertheless. INTENDED MEANING: The police had little evidence but arrested the suspected killer regardless.
After finishing his Masters degree in English, John went on to teach at his local university. INTENDED MEANING: John obtained a Masters degree in English and then he became a teacher.
We are going to Greece for a week and then going on to Italy for an extra few days to see friends. INTENDED MEANING: We will have a vacation in Greece and after that we will go to see some friends in Italy.
My son is three years old going on thirty. INTENDED MEANING: My son is three but comes across as a lot older than he is.
SPEAK LIKE A NATIVE: TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF HOW 'TO GO ON' IS USED BY NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS
If you can memorise some of the below and use them in a conversation, it will help your English to come across as more natural and like that of a native speaker. You'll need to use your imagination to complete some of them.
Are you going on the [fairground ride]?
I went to [place] on the bus today.
I am going to go on [verb + ing]...
What the hell is going on here?
[person] was going on and and on!
You do go on sometimes !
I felt worse and worse as they day went on.
The lights always go on at end of the night.
Is that all we have got to go on?
We are thinking about going on to [place] after here.
EXERCISE: Re-write the following sentences using “to go on'
What time does your performance start?
What on earth has been happening here?
I don't think I am going to continue studying science next year.
As the years and decades passed people began to forget the war.
He didn't stop talking about the blog that he has started.
The police think she committed the crime but they don't have much evidence.
EXERCISE ANSWERS FROM 'BREAK DOWN' (other variations may be possible)
The lorry driver noticed steam coming from his lorry's engine shortly before it broke down.
In order for Roger to finish his project on time, he needs to break down the project into different steps.
The enzyme breaks down to nothing over a period of 24 hours.
My relationship with my boss has been breaking down since we came back to the office after the pandemic.
The only way that Lisa could reach the neighbours garden to rescue her cat was to use a sledgehammer to break down the fence.
I broke down in the middle of the meeting in front of all my colleagues.
That is the end of today's post. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it and I sincerely hope that it has helped you a little bit further on your English learning journey.
If you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media, so together we can help as many English learners as possible to understand and master these tricky phrasal verbs.
Also, please leave any comments, questions, suggestions or examples of 'go on' below. I really love reading them. See you next time!