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to go on

to go on

1.8
Continue speaking after a pause or when asked
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡoʊ ɑn/
translation icon : seguir hablando
  • After a brief pause, she encouraged him to go on with the story.
  • go on to say
  • go on to describe
  • go on to explain

And she'll go on and add to this.

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Examples

Synonyms

to go ahead
vsto go on
2.3

Start or continue something after deciding to do it

is used to continue speaking after a pause when someone encourages
to continue
vsto go on
1.0

To start again after a pause

is specific to speech resumption after a pause or when someone prompts
to add
vsto go on
1.0

Say something more to give extra information or comment

focuses on continuing speaking at length after a pause rather than a brief remark
to proceed
vsto go on
763 3.0

Begin or continue an action after a pause, often as planned

is focused on continuing spoken words after a pause rather than general action
to keep going
vsto go on
357 1.6

To continue doing something without stopping

is about resuming or continuing speech after a pause rather than steady continuation
to keep on
vsto go on
306 1.4

Continue doing something without stopping

is about continuing spoken words after a pause rather than nonstop action
to carry on
vsto go on
253 2.7

To continue doing something after an interruption or when it is difficult

is about continuing speech after a pause rather than persisting through problems
to carry on with
vsto go on
19 2.6

Continue doing something after a pause or interruption

is about continuing speech after a pause rather than resuming an activity
go on then
vsto go on
  • UK
6 7.7

To tell someone to start or continue after they hesitate

is for continuing speech after a pause when someone prompts

Antonyms

231 1.0

To stop making noise or talking

How Long

to ramble
  • Informal
48 5.3
to go on
1.8
to continue
1.0

Surface Forms

go on infinitive
went on past
gone on past participle
going on present participle
goes on third person singular

Morphology

go + on

The sense 'to start running/operating' is directly derivable from combining 'go' (begin to run or be in action) with 'on' (into an active/operational state); a learner who knows both constituents can infer this meaning. The verb+on composition pattern signaling change into an active/working state is common in English and relatively transparent cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner is likely to understand it.

Etymology

Go on for speaking uses the same image: your words go on like a person who keeps walking along a path. So it means 'to continue speaking' after a pause.