ENGLISH
REFERENCE

go back on

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to fail to keep a promise or an agreement you made earlier.

phr. v.. to fail to honour a commitment, promise, or agreement; implies a breach of trust or a reversal of a previous decision.


SIMPLE

He promised to help me, but he went back on his word.

CONTEXTUAL

The government was criticized after they went back on their pledge to lower taxes.

COMPLEX

Once the contract is signed, it becomes legally difficult for either party to go back on the agreed terms without facing significant penalties.

Particles
back on
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
go + back + on + object
Usage

usually followed by a noun like 'word', 'promise', 'deal', or 'pledge'.

Teaching tip

focus on the collocation 'go back on your word' as it is the most frequent usage; contrast with 'keep a promise' to show the antonymous relationship.

Pitfall

He went back his promise.He went back on his promise.the preposition 'on' is essential to connect the action to the specific promise being broken.

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