English Reference

Phrasal verb

go around

Definition

phrasal verb. to be enough for everyone in a group to have some.

phrasal verb. to be sufficient in quantity to satisfy the needs or demands of all members of a group.

Examples

“Is there enough cake to go around?”

“The teacher made sure there were enough colored pencils to go around before the art project started.”

“During the economic crisis, there simply wasn't enough work to go around, leading to a significant rise in local unemployment rates.”

Examples

simple

“Is there enough cake to go around?”

contextual

“The teacher made sure there were enough colored pencils to go around before the art project started.”

complex

“During the economic crisis, there simply wasn't enough work to go around, leading to a significant rise in local unemployment rates.”

Usage

usually used in the infinitive form after 'enough' or 'sufficient'.

Teaching tip

focus on the distributive sense of the phrase; it often appears in questions or negative statements regarding resources like food, money, or time.

Pitfall

There is enough bread to go around it.

There is enough bread to go around.

in this sense, 'go around' is intransitive and does not take a direct object.

Phrasal verb

Particles

around

Separability

inseparable

Pattern

go + around

Synonyms

sufficebe enoughlast

Antonyms

Grammar

This entry

Level
B1 · Intermediate
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/go-around

English Reference