ENGLISH
REFERENCE

be going on

phr. v..
B1 Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to happen or take place; you use this to talk about events or activities that are currently occurring.

phr. v.. to occur or happen; often used in the progressive aspect to describe ongoing events or to inquire about a situation.


SIMPLE

There is a lot of noise going on next door.

CONTEXTUAL

I walked into the office and immediately felt that something strange was going on between the managers.

COMPLEX

While the public focused on the election, several significant legislative changes were going on behind the scenes without much media coverage.

Particles
on
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
be + going + on
Usage

almost always used in the continuous form ('going on') to describe current events.

Teaching tip

this is a high-frequency alternative to 'happen'; use the question 'What's going on?' to teach it as a natural social inquiry.

Pitfall

What is go on here?What is going on here?the phrase usually requires the present participle '-ing' form when describing an active, current situation.

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