Carry on means to continue an activity or a journey. The activity follows as an -ing form or after with: carry on working, carry on with the lesson. When giving directions, carry on means keep going without turning: Carry on along this road.
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carry on + -ing; carry on with + task; carry on along/down + road
- Sorry to interrupt, please carry on with your presentation.
- Despite the rain, the builders carried on working until six.
- Carry on down this street, and the museum is on your left.
What changed
First versionAfter lunch, we carried on to discuss the budget.
RevisionAfter lunch, we carried on discussing the budget.
After carry on, a verb takes -ing: carried on discussing. Carry on to may look possible, but it usually says where you go next: We carried on to the next town.
Carry-on with a hyphen is a noun meaning a bag you take on board a plane: Only one carry-on is allowed per passenger. This word is more common in American English; British speakers usually say hand luggage.
Your turn
The fire alarm stopped after a minute, so the teacher told us to ___ with the test.
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carry on — The test was interrupted by the alarm and needs to continue, so carry on with the test. Carry out means to do or conduct something and is not used with with: carry out a test, but not carry out with.
Give a tourist directions to the nearest café or shop. Use carry on and name the landmark where they need to turn.
Carry on along this street for about five minutes, then turn right at the pharmacy, and the café is next to the bank.
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