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Gene93 Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary

proceed vs go on

Hello,
I realize that proceed might be a little too formal for the sentence I am about to provide you with, but can we still use it?
- Jack put his hand up and the bartender proceeded to pour him a drink.
I wouldn't expect to hear "proceed" in this sentence, but I think that it could have the same meaning as go on. I might be wrong, though.

Another good sentence could be: "He outlined his plans and then proceeded to explain them in more detail."
  

Top answer

I think 'proceeded' is more natural in the first sentence than 'went on'.

— Fivejedjon

  • I think 'proceeded' is more natural in the first sentence than 'went on'.
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10 Answers
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I think 'proceeded' is more natural in the first sentence than 'went on'.
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Gene93Jack put his hand up and the bartender proceeded to pour him a drink.
It sounds all right to me, but you can just as easily write ... and the bartender poured him a drink.

I would not use "went on to pour". It sounds clunky to my ear.

CJ
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What is wrong with "go on", Jim? This might be a weird question and the difference is probably glaringly obvious. Emotion: big smile What are the
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Gene93What is wrong with "go on", Jim?
Nothing except what I already said, and that is a completely subjective feeling. I have no objective evidence that "go on" is wrong in the context you presented.

CJ
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Well, you don't need any, Jim. I think that "doing something after doing something else" is confusing me. Emotion: big smile The bartender proceed
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Gene93 I think that "doing something after doing something else" is confusing me. The bartender proceeds to pour him a drink, but that's the only thing he does.
The man puts his hand up—that is the preceding action.
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Thank you, Mr Micawber. In all sentences I found, someone does something and then proceeds to do something else. As in OALD's "He outlined his plans and then proceeded to explain them in more detail."
Does that mean that one person could do something and then another one could proceed to do whatever is necessary?

Proceed seems to be more similar to "go ahead" in my opinion. OALD li
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Gene93Does that mean that one person could do something and then another one could proceed to do whatever is necessary?
Yes—or unnecessary. The two actions need have no logical relationship.
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Thank you, that explains everything. One last question. Can "go ahead" be used as a synonym as it probably sounds more natural than go on? Well, not in general, but in certain contexts. I have no other questions.

Thank you.
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Gene93. Can "go ahead" be used as a synonym as it probably sounds more natural than go on?
5jj has already commented on 'go on'. 'Go ahead' carries a different meaning—to continue in a process against some complaint, restriction, or warning. So 'go ahead' will not work in that context.
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