English Phrasal Verbs: To Go…

The ubiquity and complexity of phrasal words in everyday language is one of the biggest challenges of learning English.

The addition of prepositions or adverbs can change the meaning of these verbs. The verb “to obtain” is familiar to you, but it doesn’t help in understanding the meaning “he got up.”

There are few patterns that can be used to connect the thousands of unique combinations of phrasal verbs. There is not much you can do as an English student other than memorize them all. Even worse, they are often highly Polysemous. This means that the same combination can have many different meanings.

It’s good to know that most of them are rare. More than half the phrasal Verbs in the British National Corpus are found within the Top 100. The Top 25 already make up 30%.

You’ll be able to understand the meanings and forms of these phrasal English verbs, which will help you when encountering new ones.

This article will explore all the possible phrasal Verbs with “to Go” starting from the least common.

To go on

The most common phrasal in English is to go on . According to WordNet or Collins Dictionary, it has eleven different senses.

• The verb “to go on” is to “continue” something. For example, the phrase “We cannot go on” simply means that we can’t keep doing what we are currently doing.
• The verb “to go on” means “to occur”. For example, the phrase “What is going on?” can be used to show confusion, alarm or demand an explanation of what is being witnessed.
• Go on can also be translated as “continue to speak”. It is used to urge a speaker, who has been interrupted or paused to continue speaking (“Please go on”) You can use it to describe a speaker who is repetitive, persistent, or annoying. The phrase “he never stops talking about it” is used to indicate that the speaker keeps repeating himself.
• After doing or being somewhere else, “to continue” means “to continue” or “to move on”. If you say “She will go on to do great things”, it means she is going to be successful after the discussion has finished.
• Go on can be used to express (often in a playful way) reluctance or to urge someone to act.
• To go on is an idiomatic phrase used to replace a noun such as “information”, “evidence” and “data”. For instance, to say “we don’t know enough” means to “not have enough data to make a good decision.”
• To go on means to turn on an electric device or to begin working.

To go back

When you say, “We’ve been friends for years,” it means you have known the person you are referring to for many years. To go back can also mean that you originate from a certain point in time. For example, saying “our heritage dates back centuries” implies that this heritage started centuries ago.

The phrase “to go back” is also used in a more direct way (not as a phrasal) and means to return to an earlier location or point in time. It is often metaphorically used to refer to “repeating” past events or thinking about them. As an example, the phrase “going back in time to the nineteenth century” could mean either thinking of or creating a situation similar to that of the previous century.

Breaking a promise is “going back on your word”. The term “the clocks are going back” refers to daylight saving time ending or the time when traveling westward you will cross time zones.

To go out

The idiom “to go out” can have a wide range of meanings, from “to leave” to “to celebrate” and everything in between. For example, you could “do social activities” or even “go to an evening restaurant.”

When you say “going out” with someone it often, but not always implies that there is a romantic connection. According to the context “We’re Going Out” could mean that “This is my boyfriend”, or even “We are going outside.”

A fire or light is extinguished when it goes out or becomes off. The thing is not “on”. It can be “out” of fashion, stock or use. The items are not “in.”

When the tide is going out, it means that the sea has reached a point lower or further than previously.

A piece of media can be broadcast or published. The song, the heart or sympathy can be “out” to someone, or to a group, which means it’s dedicated to or extended to that person or group.

To go down

To go down as a nonidiomatic verb is to simply decrease or descend. For example, prices can go down. This phrase can be used to describe specific things, such as planes, boats, and the sun. The implication of “going down” is to mean that the object has gone down all the way.

It can also be used to mean “to lose” or “to stop working.”

The phrase is used to describe how an idea, performance or information will be received by an audience. The phrase “the earnings forecast will go well with investors” is used to express that investors will enjoy the presentation or delivery of the forecast.

The verb “to go down in” means to remember something in or with. Going “down” with an illness is the same as becoming infected.

It can also be used in colloquial speech to refer to an event that is happening. What’s Going Down? is more informal than “What’s On?” in US English. It can mean to “go to jail” in British slang.

To go up

It can also mean “to be constructed” or “to install”. The word can be used to mean “to build” or “to install.”

The informal expression “go up” can mean to burn suddenly and intensely or to be consumed by fire.

To go up is to describe the collective actions of many people, without specifying the source.

The alarm goes off

Electrical or mechanical equipment that goes off means it will shut down, or stop working. A bomb, gun, or alarm that goes off will either explode, sound, or catch fire. Food that goes off is stale, rotten or not safe to consume. To go off means that an event, performance or other activity has been successful or went as planned.

In transitive usage, the person may no longer enjoy or like something. For example, the speaker might say, “I have gone off pizza.”

Modern colloquial use of “to go on” means to express one’s opinions in an unrestrained, unfiltered way. The older version is “to complain about or go off over” which implies the speaker is speaking excessively or complaining.

In recent years, especially in US English “go off” can be used as an imperative to encourage people to share their opinions without hesitation. Even this can be done in a sarcastic way.

To go in

In British English, “to go in” can also be used to mean “to enter,” or “to get inside.” When the sun is “going in”, it means that clouds have obscured its view.

In the negative, “go in” can also be used to mean to learn, to memorize, to pay attention. If “nothing is going in”, it could mean that the speaker has become too fatigued or confused to comprehend what they have heard or read.

To go in for is a more idiomatic way to say “to like,” “to enjoy,” or “to prefer.” It can also mean “to register for,” or “to submit an application” for a funding, competition or award.

To go (a)round

The phrase “to go around” or “to go round”, which is more common in British English (especially in colloquial language), can be used to refer to visiting someone else’s home. For example, you might say, I went round John’s house.

You can use it to mean “to act” or “appear” in public in a certain way. A parent may say to their child “You cannot behave like that”, to show disapproval at their clothing choice. It can also mean to “do [something] frequently”, especially in British English. To spend time with someone or a group, you can “go around” with them.

When a rumor, illness, or idea is “going around,” it means that they have been widely circulated.

The phrase “enough to go round” means that there are enough resources to satisfy the needs of everyone in a group. It is common to describe a high unemployment rate as “not enough work for everyone.”

There are literal uses, such as “to orbit or rotate” (the Earth revolves around the Sun), but they can be translated into “to surround or enclose”, for example, “Rings around Saturn”.

To go over

To “go over” is to examine, discuss or review something.

Similar to the phrase “go down,” “to receive” can mean “to have an audience react in a particular way.”

The British English phrase “go to …”” is used to mean to switch to. This verb is used when referring to a changing behavior or situation. If you say, “I have started eating organic food,” it means that this is something the speaker does regularly.

It can be used in the same way as a verb. “Over” is a preposition of space. You’ve crossed a river or a bridge if you “went over”.

You can go through

It is often used to mean experience. The word is often negative, as in “I have been through quite a bit”. It implies that the speaker had many difficult or painful experiences.

The word “through” can be used in a similar way to mean “discuss” or “review” or “examine”, although it has a more numerical or detailed meaning. The action of going “through” clothes and wardrobes is more natural, as it involves sorting out many items. However, you are more likely to “over” a whole day’s events, since they form an ongoing, continuous unit.

Use of “go through” is also a way to suggest an active process, as it means the person did each action on the list instead of just reading about them. The idiom “going through the motions,” which means “performing tasks without caring about the result”, is fixed.

The term “going through” a consumable can be used to describe a high-speed consumption rate, or to indicate a rapid rate of turnover.

The “passing through” of a law, order, request, etc., can mean that it was received, approved, or accepted.

The phrase “Go through with it” means to complete an action despite any doubts, resistance or hesitation.

To go along

When used in reference to an event “to go along” implies – without stating – that a subject may attend, but not participate, as they will be a second party. They might also have some reservations about their participation, perhaps even as a quiet observer, before the event. The phrase “I went to the concert with my friend and we had a wonderful time” is perfectly natural, but it implies that you did not expect to enjoy the event. This can be especially true in British English.

The subtle connotation comes from “go along” being used to indicate “tolerating” or “not objecting to”. However, it is not the only meaning of this phrase. It is often used to mean “to accompany.”

To go about

Go about something means, to do, accomplish, or finish it a particular way.

The “how” does not need to be specified. It sounds like the person is planning, or is thinking of how to solve the problem or task. The phrase “They started fixing the dishwasher”, implies that they have begun a long process. The phrase “just go about your daily” could be used as a way to encourage the listener not to worry about the subject under discussion and to continue their normal activities.

For older British English speakers, the word “around” can be used as a synonym for “about”. The word “go about”, which can mean “go around” in many different ways, is often used instead.

To go around is a nautical term that means to move a boat so the wind blows on the other side than before.

To go under

To sink or fail is to sink.

The same words that are used in almost every phrasal sentence with a spatial preposition or direction can be found without the phrasal word, meaning “to go beneath.”

To go by

The word “pass” means to go by. The time can pass, as can people and objects.

Collins Dictionary defines it as: “to follow.”

If someone has changed their name, or uses a pseudonym or alias, it is said that they “go by”, their preferred or chosen name.

Use “to go ” to avoid some common verbs.

• To go for
• To go into
• to go with
• To go at
• Do not go without
• To go against
• To go before
• To go ahead
• To go toward
• After
• To go away

Next steps to be learned

The next category is those that begin with “to come”. These are usually viewed as opposites. However, some of these phrasal words have synonymous or nearly-synonymous definitions when the word “go” replaces “come.”

The next important categories of phrasal words to learn are:

• Take a look at the following:
• You can also Get
• Set
• Carry
• Turn Around
• Bring
• Look at
• You can also Put
• Pick
• You can make use of
• The Point
• Sit
• You can find out more about this by clicking here.
• Give
• Work
• Break
• Hold onto your wits
• You can Move

It is not necessary to memorize hundreds of different phrasal words with their many meanings to become fluent in English. Instead, learning some of the more common ones can help you improve your comprehension. This means you can automatically understand unfamiliar words and phrases when you read or hear English.