Phrasal Verbs with Go: 14 Meanings You Actually Need

Go is the plainest verb of , and its phrasal verbs turn that movement into time, change and events. Prices go up, time goes by, alarms go off, fires go out and hard weeks are things you go through. Because the subject itself does the moving, almost every verb in this family is inseparable, like the come family and unlike take or put.

Go also stars in a crowd of idioms (have a go, on the go) that look like phrasal verbs and are not. They get their own section below, because mixing the two families up is a very common learner error.

The 14 phrasal verbs with go

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example	Separable?
go on	;	What is going on out there?
go out	; ( )	We go out every Friday.
go off	( ) ; ( ) ; ()	The alarm went off at six.
go over		Go over your answers before you hand them in.
go through	;	She went through a hard year.
go up	;	Rents have gone up again.
go down	;	The joke went down very well.
go back		I never went back to that shop.
go away	; ( )	The pain would not go away.
go along with		I will go along with the majority.	,
go for	;	I will go for the soup.
go without		They went without sleep that night.
go ahead	,	Go ahead, we are ready.
go by	()	Ten years went by in a flash.

The three you must know

. Four uses, all constant. Continue: go on, finish the story. Happen: what is going on?, which may be the most useful question in English. Keep doing something, with -ing: she went on working until midnight. And do something next, with to: he went on to captain the national team. The last two look similar and mean different things, a contrast the gerund and infinitive page treats properly.

. The noisy meanings first: alarms, fireworks and bombs all go off. Then the British kitchen meaning: milk, fish and leftovers go off when they are no longer safe to eat. Finally people and tastes: I have gone off him means I liked him before and do not now. Three pictures, one verb; context always tells you which is in play.

. Leaving home for pleasure: we are going out tonight, and from there, dating: they have been going out for two years (with each other, understood). Fires and lights also go out: the candle went out. When your plans and your candles use the same verb, you know you are dealing with a true phrasal verb, where meaning lives in the whole unit.

Go idioms are not phrasal verbs

A phrasal verb is verb + particle with its own meaning: go off, go through. In the phrases below, go is mostly a noun meaning an attempt or activity, and the phrase is a fixed idiom. You cannot change its words or guess it from its parts; you learn it whole.

have a go - try something: Have a go; the ice will hold.
have a go at someone - criticise them: She had a go at me for being late.
give it a go - try it: The recipe looks odd, but give it a go.
on the go - busy and active: I have been on the go since six.
from the word go - from the very beginning: The plan failed from the word go.
make a go of - make something succeed: They made a go of the cafe.
it goes without saying - it is obvious: It goes without saying that tickets sell out.

The quick test: in the bomb went off, you can change the tense of go freely, so it is a verb and this is a phrasal verb. In have a go, the verb is have, and a go behaves like a try. Same word, different job.

British and American differences

for food (the milk has gone off) and for people (I went off her) is British. American English says the milk went bad.
for reception (the speech went down well) is shared but very common in British English.
, in both its meanings, is firmly British and Australian; Americans give it a shot or take a shot at someone.

Common mistakes

Splitting unsplittable. Go the report over is wrong; every verb on this page keeps verb and particle together: go over the report.
Go on to do vs go on doing. He went on speaking means he continued; he went on to speak means speaking came next, after something else. Choose the one you mean.
Go along without the with. Agreement needs all three words: I go along with that. I go along that is just a walk.
idioms grammar. Have a go cannot become have an going or have the go. Idioms are fixed; memorise them exactly as they are.

More phrasal verb families

The full rules are in the phrasal verbs guide, and the phrasal verbs examples list has hundreds more sentences to read.

Practise: test yourself

Pick the right one

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Choose the correct particle to complete each phrasal verb with go.

My alarm went at five this morning.
Please go ; I am listening.
Prices have gone again this year.
The fire went during the night.
His speech went well with the crowd.
Go your notes again before the exam.

Fill in the blank

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Write the missing word to complete each phrasal verb.

She went a difficult time after the move.
I will go along whatever the team decides.
We had to go hot water for two days.
You have the tickets, so go and book the seats.
The summer went far too quickly.

Matching

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Match each phrasal verb to its meaning.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common phrasal verbs with go?

The everyday ones are go on (continue, or happen), go out (leave home for the evening), go off (an alarm rings, or food becomes bad), go back (return), go through (experience something difficult) and go up (rise). Those six carry most conversations.

What does go off mean in British English?

British English gives go off two extra meanings on top of the shared ones. Everywhere, an alarm goes off (it rings) and a bomb goes off (it explodes). In Britain, food also goes off (the milk has gone off means it is bad), and you can go off a person or thing (stop liking them): I have gone off coffee.

Is go on a phrasal verb?

Yes, and a busy one. It means to continue (go on, I am listening), to happen (what is going on?), and with an -ing verb to keep doing something (she went on talking). Go on to do something means to do it next: he went on to win the final.

What is the difference between a go idiom and a phrasal verb?

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle that makes a new meaning: go off, go through. An idiom is a longer fixed phrase whose meaning you cannot build from the words, and go is often a noun inside it: have a go, on the go, from the word go. In have a go, the verb is have; go is a noun meaning an attempt.

What does have a go mean?

Two things, both British and informal. To try something: I have never played darts, but I will have a go. And to criticise someone: my boss had a go at me for being late. The at tells you which meaning you are hearing: have a go at someone is the criticism.