#174: 7 Different Ways to Use ‘Go Out’ [English Phrasal Verbs]
![7 Different Ways to Use 'Go Out' [English Phrasal Verbs]](https://www.speakconfidentenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/7-Different-Ways-to-Use-Go-Out-English-Phrasal-Verbs.png "7 Different Ways to Use ‘Go Out’ [English Phrasal Verbs]")
This lesson was originally posted in December 2015. It was updated with new content and a video lesson in April 2020.
Advance your English vocabulary with phrasal verbs and have fun doing it! I know. That seems crazy, right? But it’s possible.
Maybe you think English phrasal verbs are difficult to learn because:
- There are so many of them.
- The meaning is often idiomatic.
- Some phrasal verbs have more than one meaning.
- They’ve been going out for 3 years.
- I love going out to my favorite Italian restaurant on Friday nights.
- You’ll need to go out the back door. The front door is broken.
- Yesterday the kids went out for the day.
The Meaning of Go Out in English – 7 Different Uses
1 – To be social, to do social activities, to go outside the home for enjoyment or to go to a restaurant
In this short conversation, a couple is discussing going out to dinner (or going to a restaurant):
A: Let’s go out tonight. I’m so tired and I don’t have time to go to the grocery store.
B: Sure. Where do you want to go?
A: It doesn’t matter – just somewhere quick and easy. You decide.
Other common examples to express being social, doing social activities or going to a restaurant include:
- I love going out on the weekends but I usually stay home during the week.
- Sarah is such a social butterfly – she is always going out with friends.
- Let’s go out dancing!
- Last night we went out for Italian food. We went to a new restaurant that opened around the corner and it was fantastic!
2 – To go on a date; to be dating (romantic)
These questions can be used to ask for a first date:
- Would you go out with me?
- Would you go out to dinner with me?
- Do you want to go out this weekend?
When used in the progressive (or present continuous) tense, we use “going out” to talk about how long a couple has been dating:
- Dave and I have been going out for almost 2 years now.
3 – To leave or exit a room or building
- You’ll have to go out the back door because the front door is broken.
In this sentence, two or more children may exit a house to go outside and play a game:
- Let’s go out and play!
4 – To stop, to cease or to fail in function
Here we can imagine a group of friends sitting around a fire in the winter, talking until the fire goes out:
- We stayed up chatting and drinking hot chocolate until the fire went out.
This could be a common statement when the power goes out or the electricity stops suddenly and unexpectedly:
- Oh no! The electricity went out! What happened?
5 – To no longer be in style, to no longer be fashionable or popular
- Acid-washed jeans went out after just a few years.
- I think skinny jeans will go out of style this year and, instead, baggy* clothing will become fashionable again.
*baggy = very loose, not tight
6 – The movement of water (in the sea or ocean) away from the land
We use “go out” to talk about the water slowly moving away from the land during the different tides. When the water goes out, we refer to it as low tide. The opposite – high tide – is when the water “comes in.”
- The tide is going out – we will only have another 20 minutes for surfing.
- The tide goes out really quickly here near Mont Saint-Michel so you have to be careful near the water.
7 – To express that one’s thoughts or sympathy are with someone else as a result of the person’s suffering or unfortunate circumstances
This is a common expression when showing sympathy or grief for someone who is suffering from a death of a friend or family member.
- My heart really goes out to her right now – losing a loved one is never easy. Her father was such a kind man. We always enjoyed the opportunity to talk with him.
Bonus! Common Idioms with Go Out
- I’m going out of my mind! I have too much to do today and not enough time!
- Have you gone out of your mind? You have to accept the offer – you won’t get a better one!
- I’m going out on a limb here, but I am willing to bet my entire paycheck that he will win.
- Don’t go out on a limb for him! He won’t be there to support you if something goes wrong.
- He must have been so tired! He went out like a light!
Now let’s try using some examples from your real, everyday life!
- Share 2 – 3 example sentences with the phrasal verb ‘go out.’ Try to use a different meaning in each sentence.
- Choose your favorite idiom from today’s Confident English lesson and use it in a setence.
As always, you can share your examples with me and the Confident English Community in the comments section at the end of the lesson.Thanks so much for joining me this week!
Have a great day!
~ Annemarie
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Hi Annemarie,
Thanks for your amazing lesson as always!
Hi Annemarie! What a effortless and advanced lesson at the same time! Perfect as you are. Supportive in these times when we can’t going out with friends. As you already know I’m at home since the world stopped working, wich means since our supposed normal life went out; since then I continue studying and preparing myself to better times. I’m really working and studying so hard that sometimes I think I’m going out of my mind.
Greetings,
Here are two sentences using “go out”
1. During normal business hours a few team members tend to go out for coffee.
2. Typically, What time do you go out for a walk perhaps if time permits we can walk together?
Perfect examples, Sag!
The corona virus situation restrict us from going out.it really make me going out of my mind.
My son is always going out with his friends. 2. This skinny jeans will going out of style within a year.
Hi Annemarie,
1. I went quickly out of the bus M48 because I suddenly realized to have taken the wrong one.
2. Yesterday the light in my room went out when I was deeply involved in my dealy work.
3. Many people are thinking that some of our habits will certainly go out after the corona crisis.
Hi Maria,
Thanks for sharing your examples! Number 2 is just perfect (but let’s check the spelling for ‘daily’ work). And what an interesting thought for number.
For number 1, we can definitely use ‘go out’ when we leave a building, but for the bus we use a different phrasal verb: to get off. This means to leave the bus. How could you change the sentence with this phrasal verb?
Hi Annemarie,
Here another example for Number 1:
1. I went quickly out of my car as I realized to have forgotten the books in my room.
As you can see I tried again with the phrasal verb go out.
Thank you very much for your time and your help, María
Hi Maria,
As I mentioned, we can use ‘go out’ to say that we’re leaving a building. A car isn’t a building, it’s a vehicle similar to a bus. What could we change here?
Hi
1-I like to go out every weekend with my friends , but now we can`t I miss it a lot.
2-We ussually get to much clothing and then It can go out quickly
3-It is common that during my professional practice my heart have to go out with patiens
Thanks for your help
Hi Julia, thanks so much for sharing your examples!
Like you, I love going out with my friends on the weekend. I definitely miss them right now.
For number 3, let’s work on the word order a little bit. “It’s common that during my professional practice, my heart ______ out to my patients.” –> What verb should I use here and how should it be conjugated? (go, goes, went?)
Hi Anne Marie
That was really useful and exciting.
My 3 examples of “going Out”
1.During this lock down,we have to go out as a family for exercises or else we lose shape.
2.Afro hair style went out of style but im surprised the youth like it these days.
3.My sympathy goes out to the orphans during this period. It must be very hard for them.
Wonderful examples, Dorothy! I like your last example with “my sympathy goes out to.” That works perfectly.
Hi Annemarie, i will try to share some examples:
1 – Before this pandemic i went out to the northeast too the country on vacation with my wife
2 – Every morning i’m going out to do some physical exercises.
3 – I hope as soon this pandemic finish we can going out to the job usually.
thank you so much
Hi Thiago,
Thanks for sharing your examples. I also hope after this pandemic we can return to going out easily.
A couple of things:
1. “Before this pandemic, I went out to the northest ___ the country on vacation…” –> We need to change the preposition here. Do you know what it might be?
2. “Every morning, I’m going out to do some physical exercise.” –> Because this is something you do every day, we need to use a different grammar tense to show that. How could we change the verb tense?
Thank you so much! It is really helpful. After a long time, I’m replying to you. 1. I love going out to the restaurant with my family. 2. My sister in law is going to visit us soon. So we have already planned to go out some places with her. 3. In our school, the children will go out through the different doors on the fire drill day. 4. Accidentally I dropped my phone into the water. It went out and did not know what to do. 5. I enjoy following when the tide is going out. 6. Don’t go… Read more »
Hi Annemarie it’s sanjida . Your all lessons are very helpful there is examples. 1. I didn’t going out it’s been 3 months since I came from my last holiday.
2. My front door is closed so we have to go out in the back door .
3. I love my jeans 👖 it went out though 2 years ago but I am still wearing it .
I’m going out of my mind after almost two months without going outside! I need it!!!!
I’ve been going out with my ex girlfriend for twelve years.
Before the pandemic I normally used to go out running every day,but now I’m one more fat!
Great examples, Javier. I can definitely empathize. This lockdown is very challenging.
Sentence two was a little confusing for me. “I’ve been going out with my ex-girlfriend…” –> I’ve been going tells me you are still together but ‘ex-girlfriend’ tells me she is no longer your girlfriend. How could we correct this?
Thank you for your lessons!
1) I am not going out anywhere since the restrictions in my area started.
2) I wish I could go out to my favorite Italian restaurant
3) After going out for 3 years with my boyfriend I decided to finish our relationship.
My heart really goes out with all the sick and deceased people and their families during this awful pandemic.
Thank you for sharing your example sentences, Susana! You’ve got some great examples here and I was impressed with your grammar. These are very well written.
Hi Annemarie,
I’m so glad I found your program/website. This is the first weekly lesson I received in my inbox, and I’m astonished as it is a lesson written back in 2015 and it is so useful/up-to-date that it seems it was written yesterday.
Thank you so much for preparing this material for students like me.
Hi Gabriela. Thank you so much for your email. We’re thrilled to know Annemarie’s lessons are helpful to you and we wish you continued success in your English language learning.
Thanks, it was very useful!
Wonderful! I’m glad it was useful!
It is really useful and helpful.
I’m so glad it was useful!! Thank you.
Thanks. It is so helpful
Hello Fadia,
Great! I am so glad. Thank you for sharing and providing your comment.
Best wishes to you! – Annemarie
It is very useful lesson and very good examples! Thank you, Annemarie!
Hello Yulia –
Thank you! I’m happy the lesson is helpful to you! Thank you for your comment.
Hope you are well! Best wishes, Annemarie
It’s very useful. .thank you
Hello Saritha,
Great! I am so glad the lesson is helpful to you!
Thank you for your comment.
Warmest wishes,
Annemarie