Go on means to continue doing something, or to happen. In the sense of “continue”, you say “go on working” or “go on with the story”. The sense of “happen” is most often heard in the question “What's going on?”
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go on + -ing; go on with + noun; go on to + verb; what's going on?
- The meeting went on for three hours, and nobody suggested a break.
- The lecturer stopped to answer a question and then went on explaining the formula.
- There were police cars outside the station, so I asked what was going on.
What changed
First versionSorry for interrupting, please go on your story.
RevisionSorry for interrupting, please go on with your story.
Unlike “continue”, “go on” cannot take a noun directly. To continue something named by a noun, put “with” after “go on”: “go on with your story”. Without “with”, the sentence is wrong.
“Go on to” + verb means to move on to something new rather than continue the same thing: After school, she went on to study law. Compare: She went on studying, which means she continued her studies.
Your turn
Mia was writing an essay when her phone rang. She ignored the call and ___ the essay.
Show the answer
went on writing — Mia was already writing the essay and simply carried on after the call, so “went on writing” is right. “Went on to write” would mean she moved on to the essay as a new task, but she was already working on it.
Describe a time you were distracted at work or while studying. Say what distracted you and what you went on doing.
My colleague took a loud phone call at the next desk, but I put on headphones and went on checking the report.
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