go by — time passes
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to describe how time passes, especially when it seems to move quickly or slowly.
Say it like a native
Textbook As time elapsed, the pain diminished.
Native As time went by, the pain faded.
'(As) time goes by' is the natural phrase. 'As time elapsed' is formal/literary.
Pattern: time/period + go by
In use
- The weekend seemed to go by so quickly.daily life
- During the exam, I felt like time was going by much faster than usual.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ The time goes by so fastly.
✓ Time goes by so fast.
'Fast' is already the adverb (not 'fastly'), and 'time' is usually uncountable here (no 'the').
Common collocations
go by— the years, time, the days, a week
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'pass by' (which often means to move past someone or something physically).
Related
- go by (be guided by) — Another meaning of 'go by' is 'be guided by'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.