To begin something again from the beginning, often after a failure or change.
To begin something again from the very beginning, usually after something has gone wrong or circumstances have changed. Starting over means abandoning what you had done before and taking a fresh approach.
As the saying goes…
🏮 As the old Chinese proverb says: "The wise person who starts over arrives before the stubborn person who never stops going the wrong way."
Type
Inseparable phrasal verb.
Notes
"Start over" is an inseparable phrasal verb, meaning no object can be placed between the two parts. You cannot say "start it over" to mean beginning again from scratch in the standard sense of this phrase; instead, you say "start over" alone or add context after, as in "She decided to start over with a new plan." Note that "over" here functions as an adverb, not a preposition, which is why no object follows it directly.
Conjugation
Narrative
Priya had been teaching herself guitar for three months using online tutorials, but her fingering technique had developed such bad habits that her teacher winced during their first session together. "You have te in your wrist that will cause injury if you continue," he said gently. He suggested she start over — back to basic hand position, single open chords, slow tempos. Priya felt de at first, b within two weeks of dr the fundamentals correctly, her chord transitions were cl than ever. S , sometimes the fastest route forward is the one that do back. She had, in effect, stver to move forward. Ev , she almost quit that first week.
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In the autumn of 1849, Abraham Lincoln's political career appeared to be finished. He had served a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives, kept a promise not to seek re-election, and returned to Springfield, Illinois, to resume his law practice — largely fo in Washington. His application for a federal land-office appointment was rejected. By 1850, Lincoln was forty-one years old, in debt, and grieving the death of his three-year-old son Eddie. Rahan retreat into bitterness, he po himself back into the law, riding the Eighth Judicial Circuit across r Illinois for months at a time, rebuilding his reputation one case at a time. When the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 re his passion for politics, Lincoln had rebuilt the skills, the relationships, and the m clarity that would eventually carry him to the presidency in 1860. In , his decade of obscurity was not wasted time — it was the ground floor of a rebuilt life. S , Lincoln's return from political irrelevance is one of history's most documented examples of choosing, quietly and without fanfare, to st .
To continue doing something without stopping, especially after a problem, interruption, or setback. It suggests persistence and the determination to keep going despite difficulties.
As the saying goes…
🏮 As the old Chinese proverb says: the road does not shorten itself — so carry on, and eventually you arrive.
Type
Inseparable phrasal verb.
Notes
"Carry on" is an inseparable phrasal verb, meaning the verb and particle cannot be split by an object. You must say "carry on with the journey," never "carry the journey on." When a pronoun or noun follows, it is introduced with the preposition "with": for example, "She carried on with her work" rather than placing the object between the two words.
Conjugation
Narrative
Marco had been cycling across Spain for eleven days when his rear derailleur snapped outside a small village near Burgos. He pushed his bike to a roadside café, or a coffee, and sat staring at the map. A local mechanic patched it together with a spare part that wasn't quite right — the gears skipped on every hill. Marco knew the fix wouldn't last. B Santiago de Compostela was only four days away. He tightened his w helmet, paid for the coffee, and decided to ca , taking the s hills slowly, st on the pedals where he had to. Ev , he never once considered turning back.
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In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition set sail from London aboard the Endurance. By January 1915, the ship was tr in pack ice in the Weddell Sea. For ten months the crew drifted, locked in ice, watching the ship slowly being crushed. When the Endurance finally sank in November 1915, Shackleton and his twenty-seven men were stranded on the ice with three lifeboats and dwindling supplies. Rahan surrender to despair, Shackleton organized daily routines, maintained morale, and led the men on a ha 800-mile open-sea voyage to South Georgia Island — na by sextant, enduring hurce winds — to reach a whaling station and summon rescue. Every si crew member survived. What made the difference was Shackleton's refusal to stop: when each plan failed, he fo a new one. S , the expedition became one of history's most extraordinary examples of what it means to ca in the face of total, sustained catastrophe.
To continue doing something without stopping, even when it is difficult or you feel like giving up. It often describes persisting through challenges in order to finish or succeed.
As the saying goes…
🏮 As the old Chinese proverb says: "The man who keeps going arrives tired — the man who stops arrives never."
Type
Inseparable phrasal verb.
Notes
"Keep going" is an inseparable phrasal verb, meaning no object or other word can be placed between "keep" and "going." For example, you can say "She kept going despite the pain," but you cannot say "She kept it going" to express this same meaning of continued effort — inserting an object changes or loses the intended sense entirely.
Conjugation
Narrative
Priya had been studying for her nursing entrance exam for six months. In the f week, she failed two practice tests back to back and nearly cancelled her registration. Her older sister sat with her at the kitchen table on a Tuesday night, g over drug-calculation problems one more time. "You know more than you think," her sister said quietly. Priya wasn't sure she believed that, b she ke anyway — flashcards at breakfast, practice questions on the bus. S , on exam day, she pa with two points to spare. Ev , she cried in the parking lot afterward, from relief rather than a q fear.
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In January 1915, Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance became trapped in pack ice in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. By November the ice had crushed and sunk her, leaving Shackleton and his twenty-seven men stranded on the frozen surface with three small lifeboats. Over the following months, the crew drifted on ice floes, eventually launching the boats into vi Antarctic waters. Shackleton then led an 800-mile open-boat journey to South Georgia Island — widely considered one of the most da sea voyages in history — arriving in May 1916 with five ex men. He then crossed the island's unmapped mountain range on foot to reach a whaling station and organize a rescue. Every single member of the expedition survived. Shackleton made no dramatic speeches about resilience; he simply as each new obstacle and f the next possible action. S , the expedition is remembered not because the mission succeeded — it failed entirely — buuse when every reason to stop acted , Shackleton and his crew found a way to ke .
If you move on, you stop dwelling on a past experience, relationship, or feeling and direct your attention toward the present or the future. It often involves accepting that something is over and choosing to continue with your life.
As the saying goes…
🏮 As the old Chinese proverb says: "The man who stares at where he fell never sees where he is walking — move on."
Type
Inseparable phrasal verb.
Notes
"Move on" is an inseparable phrasal verb, meaning no object can be placed between the two words. You cannot say "move it on" when using the emotional meaning. If an object is introduced, it follows a preposition: "She moved on from the breakup" — the phrase stays intact.
Conjugation
Narrative
When Priya found out she hadn't been chosen for the promotion she'd worked toward for two years, she went home and cried. She let herself feel the dient fully that evening. The next morning, she called her sister and talked through it. Her sister said simply, "You deserved it — b you have to mo now." Priya made a list of things she could do ditly , up her resume, and booked a we trip to clear her head. It wasn't easy, b she stopped checking her work email obsessively and started looking at other opportunities. In , she fo on what came next.
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In April 1865, with the American Civil War nearly over, Ulysses S. Grant met Confederate General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, to receive Lee's surrender. Grant had every political reason to humiliate the defeated South — the war had killed over 600,000 people and torn the nation apart. In , Grant of remarkably ge terms: Confederate soldiers would be paroled, allowed to keep their horses, and sent home without prosecution. He reportedly silenced his own troops when they began firing celebratory cannon shots, saying there was nothing to celebrate in the defeat of fellow Americans. Grant understood that the country could not heal if it stood petly in the wound. Lee's army stacked its arms on April 12th, and Grant immediately began focusing on reconstruction rather than retribution. His decision was not naivety — it was a ca choice to mo as a nation, trading the satisfaction of punishment for the possibility of reunion. Ev , it remains one of history's clearest examples of what it costs, and what it g , to deliberately move on from catastrophic loss.