Go through means to experience something hard or unpleasant: a difficult period, an illness, big changes. It also means to read or check something carefully: documents, notes, a list of questions.
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go through + difficult time/changes; go through + notes/documents/list; went through (past)
- My sister went through a hard time after she lost her job.
- Before the exam, I went through my notes one last time.
- Let's go through the contract together before you sign it.
What changed
First versionAfter the move, our family passed through a difficult period.
RevisionAfter the move, our family went through a difficult period.
Pass through may seem to fit a difficult period, but it usually means to travel through a place: pass through a small town. For something that you or your family lived through, the natural choice is go through.
Look through and go through can both be about documents, but they differ in how closely you read. Look through means to read something quickly: I looked through the menu. Go through means to check it point by point: We went through the budget line by line.
Your turn
Before you sign the rental agreement, ___ every page carefully.
Show the answer
go through — The agreement needs to be checked page by page, and that is go through. Pass through describes moving through a place, such as a town or passport control, and has nothing to do with reading documents.
Describe how you prepare for an important exam or interview. Say which materials you review and when.
On the evening before my interview, I went through the company's website and my own notes.
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