student asking question

What does "things went on like that" mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

In this context, "went on" is the past tense form of "to go on," which means to continue on. "Things" refers to the current situation or state of things. Thus, we can understand "things went on like that for a while" to mean "[the current situation] continued like this for a while." Ex. I am unhappy with my job. Things cannot go on like this for any longer. Ex. She was bullied for being skinny and tall in school. However, she went on to become a model later.

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