AAAmerican Accent US

go after

Inseparable

The verb and particle never split. The object always follows the whole phrase.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: go AFTER. Saying “GO after” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

A glide appears. Two vowels meet, so American English slips a /w/ between them: “go after” → “go-wafter”. You do not insert it deliberately — it falls out of not stopping between the words.

What it means

  1. To pursue something or someone you want.

    • “She went after the promotion and got it.”
    • “The prosecutor went after him hard.”

    Similar: pursue, chase

The particle logic

after

Pursuing someone, caring for them, or looking like them.

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More GO phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

go ahead

To proceed, or to give permission to proceed.

go on

To continue.

go out

To leave home for a social activity.

go off

(Of an alarm) to start sounding.

go over

To review or examine something carefully.

go through

To experience something difficult.

go back

To return to a place or a previous state.

go along with

To agree to a plan or accept an opinion.

go down

To decrease.

go up

To increase.

go for

To choose or decide on something.

go by

(Of time) to pass.

go after — meaning, examples & how to say it