Phrasal Verbs con GO: Lista Completa con Significados y Ejemplos

GO es el verbo de movimiento por excelencia, pero cuando se combina con partículas sus significados se multiplican y se alejan bastante del movimiento físico. Go off puede ser una alarma que suena, una comida que se estropea o una explosión. Go through puede ser pasar por un control de seguridad o atravesar una etapa muy dura de tu vida.

Esa diversidad es lo que hace a los phrasal verbs con GO tan útiles y, al mismo tiempo, tan difíciles de dominar sin ejemplos en contexto.

Si quieres una introducción general a los phrasal verbs, la guía de phrasal verbs te da los fundamentos que necesitas antes de profundizar en verbos específicos.

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Go on

El más frecuente de todos, con varios significados distintos:

Continuar, seguir haciendo algo

• Go on — don't stop now.
• She went on talking even though nobody was listening.
• Go on with what you were saying.

Ocurrir, estar pasando

• What's going on in there?
• Something strange is going on.

Basar una decisión en algo

• There's very little evidence to go on.
• What do you have to go on?

Pasar el tiempo

• As time went on, things got easier.

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Go off

Sonar (alarma, móvil, timbre)

• My alarm went off at 6 but I turned it off immediately.
• Her phone keeps going off during the meeting.

Explotar o dispararse

• A bomb went off in the city center.
• The gun went off accidentally.

Estropearse (comida o bebida)

• This milk has gone off — smell it.
• Don't eat that fish, it's gone off.

Dejar de gustarle algo a alguien (inglés británico)

• I've gone off coffee lately — I prefer tea.
• He went off the idea after reading more about it.

Ocurrir según lo planeado

• The event went off without a hitch.

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Go through

Pasar por algo difícil o complicado

• She went through a lot after the divorce.
• We went through a really tough period last year.

Revisar en detalle, examinar

• Let's go through the contract clause by clause.
• I need to go through my notes before the exam.

Pasar por un proceso o control

• You'll have to go through security at the airport.
• The proposal has to go through several approval stages.

Gastar o consumir

• They went through the budget in two weeks.
• He goes through a pair of shoes every six months.

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Go out

Salir (a un sitio, a una cita)

• We're going out for dinner — want to come?
• She goes out every Friday with her friends.

Tener una relación romántica

• They've been going out for three years.
• How long have you two been going out?

Apagarse (una luz, un fuego)

• The lights went out during the storm.
• The fire went out when it started raining.

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Go ahead

Proceder con algo; también dar permiso.

• Go ahead — I'll catch up with you later.
• "Can I ask you something?" — "Go ahead."
• The project got the green light and went ahead as planned.

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Go back

Volver a un lugar o a un tema.

• I can't go back now — it's too late.
• Let's go back to what we were discussing.
• This tradition goes back hundreds of years. (datarse de)

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Go over

Repasar, revisar por encima.

• Go over your answers before you hand in the exam.
• Can you go over the main points with me?

Go over well/badly: tener buena o mala acogida.

• The presentation went over really well.
• His joke didn't go over well with the audience.

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Go along with

Aceptar o estar de acuerdo con algo, a veces sin mucho entusiasmo.

• I'll go along with whatever you decide.
• She went along with the plan even though she had doubts.

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Go for

Intentar conseguir algo

• Go for it — you've got nothing to lose.
• She's going for the gold medal.

Elegir o decidirse por algo

• I'll go for the pasta, I think.
• Which option are you going for?

Aplicarse a, valer para

• That rule goes for everyone, no exceptions.

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Go with

Combinar bien, hacer juego

• That tie doesn't really go with your shirt.
• Which wine goes best with fish?

Acompañar a alguien

• I'll go with you — I don't want you to go alone.

Elegir una opción

• I'm going with the second option.

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Go without

Prescindir de algo, apañarse sin algo.

• We went without heating for three days.
• She went without sleep to finish the project.

It goes without saying: es obvio, no hace falta decirlo.

• It goes without saying that honesty is important.

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Go up / Go down

Subir o bajar (precios, temperatura, calidad)

• Prices have gone up again this month.
• The temperature went down overnight.
• The quality of service has really gone down.

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Los errores más frecuentes con phrasal verbs de GO

Go on vs keep on

Ambos significan "seguir haciendo algo", pero keep on tiene un matiz de persistencia o repetición, a veces con cierta exasperación. "Keep on trying" o "He keeps on interrupting me" es más enfático que "He goes on talking".

Go off vs set off

Para alarmas, se usan indistintamente. Para explosiones, también. Para salir de viaje, se usa set off, no go off. ❌ "They went off for Paris" → ✓ "They set off for Paris."

Go through vs go over

Go through es más exhaustivo y también se usa para experiencias difíciles. Go over es un repaso. No son intercambiables en todos los contextos.