An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pass on', with lots of examples in context
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Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs!
'Pass on' is a versatile phrasal verb with a variety of different meanings in English. In this post, I will explain the different meanings and uses that it has, which will touch on the ideas of death and disease and also some other things that are not so unpleasant. For each meaning, there will be lots of examples in context to help you understand, learn and use them and impress your English speaking friends and colleagues! So, without further ado, let's get started.
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PASS ON: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 4 |
Past tense forms | Passed on / Passed on |
Separable? | Sometimes |
MEANINGS (Click to jump to each one)
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THE BASICS
To start the post, let's take a look at the individual words 'pass' and 'on' and what they mean on their own as this can often give us some valuable insight into the more idiomatic meanings of a phrasal verb.
The main verb in this post is 'to pass', which has a large number of different meanings and uses as a verb and also as a noun. Many of these meanings involve a movement or transition from one place or state to another, such as moving past someone or something, being transferred from one person to another, spending time doing something or exceeding a limit or mark. Aside from this, other key meanings of 'to pass' are 'to die' and to succeed in an exam or test'.
We passed your house last night.
Please can you pass me the salt.
John's mum passed three years ago and he misses her every day.
I passed my English exam with full marks!
One thing to note about the verb 'to pass' is that it has cognates in many other Indo-European languages such as German (passieren), French (passer) and Spanish (pasar). Rather annoyingly, however, not every meaning of 'to pass' in English will translate exactly to the corresponding cognate in the other language and vice versa, so it is best to be careful when using it to ensure that you translate it correctly.
Next, we have the prepositional particle 'on', which is primarily used to mean 'to be in contact with, and supported by, a surface'. As with all English prepositions, it does also have a wide range of other uses and meanings and is a common feature in phrasal verb constructions where it is used to add the ideas of continuation, progression, focus and connection, among other things.
Now that we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'pass on'....
MEANING 1: To give something to somebody
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CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To give, to transmit, to pass, to hand, to infect, to bequeath, to impart |
Separable? | Yes |
The first meaning of 'pass on' that we will cover in this post is 'to give something to somebody' and this one is used in many different areas of life.
Whilst this meaning can just refer to the simple and unique act of transferring the possession of something from one person to another, it is often used to refer to giving something to someone that someone else gave you. In other words, when the possession of something is continually transferred from person to person.
By considering the individual meanings of the words 'pass' and 'on', we can see how this first meaning is derived. From the verb 'to pass' we get the idea of 'moving or transferring something from one person to another' and from the particle 'on' we have the idea of 'continuation', so when we combine the two, we have the concept of one thing being continuously transferred to multiple people. Moreover, this is usually with the idea that once the item is transferred, it is no longer in the previous person's possession.
Please sign your name on the sheet and pass it on to the person sitting next to you.
When you have finished reading the book that I lent you, could you please pass it on to Sarah as she wants to read it.
As I mentioned previously, there are various different areas of life in which this first application of 'pass on' is used and to make this simpler, I have created the sub-sections below to list the most common ones....
Diseases and infections - After the Covid-19 pandemic a few years ago, we are all well aware of the risk that contagious diseases pose to us. Did you know though that we frequently use the phrasal verb 'pass on' to mean 'to pass or spread a virus or infection from one person to another'?
The HIV virus cannot be passed on by touching or kissing an infected person.
Roger went into work with a bad cold and then passed it on to all of his colleagues.
Hereditary conditions - Whilst we are on the subject of health problems, we can also use 'pass on' to refer to when hereditary health conditions are genetically inherited by a child from their parents via DNA and genes.
If both parents of a child carry the gene for cystic fibrosis, there is a higher chance that the disease will be passed on to to their child.
The baby was born blind due to a condition that had been passed on genetically from her mother.
Possessions - Of course, one of the potential consequences of disease and ill health is that a person dies from it (more on this later). When this happens, then the property and possessions that belonged to the deceased person are usually distributed to their family members and to describe this inheritance or bequest, we can also use 'pass on'.
In your will, you will need to specify how your money and savings should be passed on after you die.
My Dad's investments were passed on to me and my brother when he died.
Costs and savings - Another way in which we can use this application of 'pass on' is with financial costs and savings. This is typically done when a business either makes a company pay for extra costs that it incurs or, contrarily, reduces a customer's prices as the company itself has had a reduction in its costs.
We regret that we cannot bear these costs alone and some of these will need to be passed on to our customers in the form of higher prices.
The company passed on its savings to its customers by offering lower prices on its core products
Knowledge - One final way that this application of 'pass on' is used is hopefully one that I am demonstrating now as it is concerned with teaching and knowledge. If you pass on knowledge or skills to someone else, you simply teach them or show them how to do something and pass the knowledge that you have on a subject from your brain to theirs.
I am pleased that I am able to pass on my knowledge of the English language with my students.
Many elder members of native American communities are dying without having passed on their knowledge to the younger generations.
MEANING 2: To communicate information to someone
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CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To communicate, to tell, to inform, to notify, to recount, to advise, to relay |
Separable? | Yes |
When I was at junior (elementary) school many many years ago, I remember that one of the mischievous things that we often did in the classroom was to whisper something silly or mildly offensive to the person sitting next to us. We would then tell them to "pass it on" to see how far around the classroom the message would travel, a little bit like the game known as Chinese Whispers. The reason that we said "pass it on" in this way is because the second meaning of 'pass on' is indeed 'to communicate information to another person'. This is most commonly in the form of a message.
Admittedly, this is very similar to the first meaning that we have just covered, however this time we are not concerned with anything physical, but rather information. Moreover, like with the continuous transfer idea in the first meaning, this application is also often used to tell someone something that another person has told you.
It should be noted however that with the first meaning, the main verb 'to pass' could be used on its own without the particle 'on' as a synonym of 'pass on'. This is not the case for this second meaning regarding information though as it sounds incomplete and a little strange to my ear without the particle 'on' here.
Did you pass this information on to the customer?
He passed the news on to the rest of the family.
I am so sorry to hear about the death of your aunt. Please pass my condolences on to the rest of the family.
Rachel forgot to pass on the message that the concert had been cancelled to her friends.
MEANING 3: To decline an offer
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CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To decline, to turn down, to refuse |
Separable? | No |
The third meaning of 'pass on' is 'to decline an offer' or in other words 'to turn down an invitation or request'.
For this meaning, we are primarily concerned with when someone invites us to answer a question, participate in activity or do something.
If we don't want to do what the person has asked, for example, they ask us a question that we don't want to answer or they invite us to do something that we have no desire to do, we can say that we will 'pass on' it. Interestingly (and confusingly), the phrasal verb 'pass up' can also be used as a synonym of this, especially when talking about an offer or an opportunity that we say no to.
From a grammatical perspective, in contrast to the first two meanings in this post, this application of 'pass on' is not separable.
David passed on the chance to go to Japan to teach English.
I am not willing to answer that question so I am going to pass on that one.
A number of investors are regretting passing on the opportunity of buying a stake in the company, which has seen huge success over the past 5 years.
MEANING 4: To die
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CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Primarily American English |
Potential synonyms | To die, to pass, to pass away, to pass over, to expire |
Separable? | No |
For our fourth and final meaning of 'pass on', we are once again returning to the theme of death as this meaning is simply 'to die'.
This usage is a euphemistic one, which means that is uses mild, inoffensive or polite words or phrases to describe something that could be offensive or unpleasant, such as something sexual or, in this case, death.
The idea behind this usage is linked to the idea that many people believe that when you die, your soul goes to heaven, once again giving us the idea of 'progression and continuation that we get from the particle 'on'.
I would say that this is more of an American usage as in British English we would be more inclined to use the synonym 'pass away' as a euphemism for death. You should note that that verb 'to pass' on its own can also be used to mean the same thing.
As with the previous usage, this one does not take a direct object and it cannot be separated.
I am sorry to hear that your father has passed on.
When I pass on, I would like to be buried next to my wife.
The actress passed on after a long battle with cancer.
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