ENGLISH
REFERENCE

go on to do sth

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to do something else after you have finished a previous task or stage.

phr. v.. to proceed to a subsequent action or stage after the completion of a prior one; often used to describe a progression in a career or narrative.


SIMPLE

After university, she went on to become a doctor.

CONTEXTUAL

The director thanked the cast and then went on to announce the winner of the award.

COMPLEX

Although the initial experiment failed, the team went on to discover a revolutionary new material that changed the industry forever.

Particles
on
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
go + on + to + infinitive
Usage

followed by an infinitive ('to do'); do not confuse with 'go on doing', which means to continue the same action.

Teaching tip

this is a crucial 'verb pattern' distinction: 'go on to do' (next step) vs 'go on doing' (continue current step); use a timeline on the board to show the sequence of events.

Pitfall

He went on to talking about his trip.He went on to talk about his trip.this specific meaning of 'moving to a new task' requires the infinitive 'to talk', not the gerund 'talking'.

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