go through — experience something difficult or unpleasant
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to experience a difficult, unpleasant, or challenging situation or period in your life.
Say it like a native
Textbook She is currently enduring a very difficult period.
Native She's going through a really tough time.
'Go through' is the natural verb for living through something hard. 'Enduring a difficult period' is formal.
Pattern: go through something
In use
- She went through a lot after losing her job.daily life
- During my teenage years, I went through many changes that helped me become more independent.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He went through with a divorce last year.
✓ He went through a divorce last year.
'Go through + experience'. 'Go through WITH' means force yourself to complete something — different meaning.
Common collocations
go through + ordeal— a tough time, a lot, a breakup, chemo
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'go over', which means to review or check.
Related
- go through (examine or check something carefully) — Another meaning of 'go through' is 'examine or check something carefully'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.