An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'go on' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them.
'Go on' is a really common phrasal verb in English. and we use it in a lot of different ways. During my research for the post I realised just how many uses that it has, 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. So, without further ado, let's make a start....
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GO ON: KEY INFORMATION For an explanation of the terms in the table above, click hereÂ
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | ​9 |
Past tense forms | Went on / Gone On |
Separable? | No |
MEANINGSÂ (Click to jump to each one)
THE BASICS
To begin with, let's take a look at the words which make up the phrasal verb 'go on', as this can often provide valuable insight into the more abstract and figurative meanings of a phrasal verb.
Firstly, we have the super common verb 'to go', meaning to travel or move to another place. In addition to it's main usage denoting movement, 'to go' can also be used to mean to leave, to change state and to suit something, among many others. In addition, we also use the verb 'to go' to form the 'going to' future tense. Besides its large number of meanings and functions in English, it is worth noting that 'to go' is one of the most irregular verbs in the English language.
I am going to Spain tomorrow.
Who is going to the party?
This bus goes from Edinburgh to Glasgow.
It's time for me to go home now.
Sue went crazy when she saw the mess in her kitchen.
That coat goes well with your shoes.
Then, we have the preposition 'on', which, when used as an adverb and preposition, means to be physically in contact and supported by something. In phrasal verb constructions, 'on' can add various different meanings and nuances and these include continuation (carry on), progress (move on), motivation (cheer on) and connection (turn on).
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the real reason that you are here, which is the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'go on'....
MEANING 1: Literal
CEFR Language Level | A2 - Elementary |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | ​To get on, to travel on, to ride |
Separable? | No |
For the first meaning of 'go on' in this post, we are focussing on the literal meaning that we get when we combine these two words, which is to travel to a place whilst being on something, e.g. a bus or train.
Nous commonly used with application....
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This literal application of 'go on' is used specifically to talk about being 'on' something as it moves from one place to another. This may be a form of public transport like a bus or an air plane (not a car though as we travel in a car), or it can also be used for something that moves but does not travel to a different place such as a fairground ride or a roller coaster.
The kids were excited to go on the boat trip.
John isn't driving to work tomorrow; he is going on the train instead.
We went on the roller coaster even though it looked scary.
I don’t think I’ll go on the Ferris wheel—I’m afraid of heights.
GO ON vs GET ON
You should note that when talking about a physical movement to an end point or destination that is on something, we use 'get on' to describe this transitional action. 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. We tend to use 'go on' to refer to the state of being on something, rather than the movement from the ground on to it.
We can also use this literal application of 'go on' for nouns that do not move but for which we use 'on', such as the radio, television, the internet.
The charity workers are going on local radio to promote their next event.
I remember the first time I went on this website.
Additionally, it should be noted that 'go on' is often also 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'.
That's it, I've put on too much weight, so I am going on a diet after Christmas.
When do you go on holiday to Portugal?
My grandparents go on a day trip to the south coast every year.
We are going on a journey tomorrow.
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. Whilst you can use the full expression 'go on stage', when the context is known, it is possible to drop the word 'stage', leaving just 'go on.
I go on in 5 minutes, so I don't have time to talk.
What time do you go on this afternoon?
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.
The substitute striker went on in the 88th minute and scored the winning goal.
MEANING 2: To continue
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To continue, to keep on, to keep going, to persist, to carry on |
Separable? | No |
The first idiomatic usage of 'go on' in this 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'.
I haven't had a job for several months now. I can't go on like this for much longer!
How much longer do you think we can go on in this way?
The people are in a desperate situation and they cannot go on like that for much longer.
After a short break, the meeting went on as planned.
Alternatively, it is also very common to specify what the action is that will continue. This is often, but not always, after a temporary pause in the action.
On a grammatical note, when stating the action that is continuing, you need to use the 'ing' progressive form when it is a verb. If the thing that is continuing is a noun, we need the additional preposition 'with'.
I intend to go on learning Mandarin until I am completely fluent.
Are you just going to go on working there for the rest of your life?
I've injured my knee and I need to rest but I intend to go on running when it is better.
Please go on with your story; I want to hear what happens next.
He paused for a moment, then went on speaking.
The teacher went on with her explanation, even though some students looked confused.
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 |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To happen, to take place |
Separable? | No |
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. Moreover, I think that this version of 'go on' is used most commonly in question form.
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.
What's going on here?
This place is a mess, what has been going on?
I'm not sure what is going on outside but it doesn't sound good.
A lot has gone on since you left.
I have no idea what’s going on in that meeting.
Strange things went on in that abandoned house.
There’s always something exciting going on in the city.
A huge argument went on between them last night.
Nobody knew what was really going on behind the scenes.
There’s a festival going on downtown this weekend.
One last point to note here is that in informal American English, 'what's going on?' is often used as informal greeting, particularly among young people and means 'how are you?' or 'how are things?'.
MEANING 4: To talk a lot
​CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To ramble, to prattle, to babble, to harp on, to bang on |
Separable? | No |
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 it is not enjoyable and all you want is for it to stop.
Gosh! Professor Smith goes on in his lectures, doesn't he!
My Dad was going on about politics again last night.
Helen was going on and on and on about her new boyfriend and i couldn't get a word in edgeways.*
Trevor just goes on and on about his new car; I’m so tired of hearing about it!
Sally went on for hours about her vacation in Mexico.
I wish Dan wouldn’t go on so much.
My parents went on about politics until everyone else in the family was bored.
My sister constantly goes on about her problems but never listens to mine.
Pete went on at length about his childhood memories.
My boss goes on forever in meetings, making them so long.
* 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.
A LITTLE BIT MORE FOR YOU....
'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.
Lisa's keeps going on at her children to tidy up the house but she doesn't ever tidy 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.
MEANING 5: To pass (time)
​CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
​Potential synonyms | To pass, to go by, to wear on |
Separable? | No |
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.
As the morning went on, the rain started letting up.
The night went on, and the party got even livelier.
There is no reason why the TV show continues to do so well as the years go on.
As the years went on, they became close friends.
As time goes on, you’ll start to feel better.
The weeks went on, but we still hadn’t heard any news.
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. This is often used when something lasts for a long period of time or for longer than it was expected to and can often be negative in nature, often inferring that the person was bored or wanted it to finish sooner.
As the meeting went on, I became more and more tired.
Quite a lot of people left the conference as it went on.
The movie went on for nearly three hours!
The meeting went on for much longer than expected.
The father of the bride's speech went on and on and I think most people had lost interest in it by the time he had finished.
MEANING 6: To start working
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To come on, to turn on |
Separable? | No |
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.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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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.
In winter, the lights go on at 5pm every evening.
The washing machine goes on every night as it is cheaper than during the daytime.
The streetlights go on automatically at dusk.
The heater went on as soon as the temperature dropped.
As soon as I flipped the switch, the lights went on.
The air conditioning goes on every morning at 9 AM.
When the power came back, all the appliances went on at once.
A COUPLE OF EXTRA SPECIFIC USAGES
Do you think you have room in your brain for a few more uses of 'go on'?
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 but definitely ones that you may come across in your interactions with English speakers.
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". Alternatively, we can use this when we are trying to work something out based on evidence or available information.
The police didn't have much to go on but they arrested the suspected murderer nevertheless.
Is that all of the information that we have to go on?
There's a lot to go on here, so we should be able to come up with an answer once we have considered it all.
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.
After finishing his Masters degree in English, John went on to teach at his local university.
We are going to Greece for a week and then going on to Italy for an extra few days to see friends
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.
My son is three years old going on thirty.
We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'go on'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
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