强调“推翻之前的承诺/约定,不履行曾经的说法或决定”,通常带有“不守信用”的负面色彩。
英文释义:to fail to keep a promise, agreement, or decision; to renege on something。
该短语的结构为:主语 + go back on + 宾语(宾语通常是表示“承诺、协议、决定”的名词或从句)。
常见搭配的宾语包括:
one’s promise(某人的承诺)
one’s word(某人的诺言,= promise)
an agreement(协议)
a decision(决定)
what sb. said(某人说的话)
通过具体例子更直观理解用法:
1、 违背诺言:
He went back on his promise to help me with my homework.
(他反悔了帮我写作业的承诺。)
2、 食言:
You shouldn’t go back on your word—people will stop trusting you.
(你不应该食言——否则没人会再信任你。)
3、 违背协议:
The landlord went back on the agreement to lower the rent.
(房东违背了降低租金的协议。)
4、 反悔决定:
She’s worried he’ll go back on his decision to move to Paris with her.
(她担心他会反悔和她一起去巴黎的决定。)
5、 否定之前的说法:
I can’t believe he went back on what he told me yesterday.
(我不敢相信他推翻了昨天对我说的话。)
过去式:went back on(最常用,描述过去的反悔行为)
现在分词:going back on(如:He’s always going back on his plans. 他总反悔自己的计划。)
第三人称单数:goes back on(如:She never goes back on her promises. 她从不会食言。)
break a promise:与 go back on a promise 意思相近,但 break 更强调“打破承诺”的结果,而 go back on 更强调“反悔”的动作(即“主动推翻之前的说法”)。
例如:He broke his promise = He went back on his promise(两者均可,前者更口语,后者更正式)。
综上,go back on 是表达“反悔、食言”的常用短语,核心是“推翻之前的承诺/决定”,搭配具体的“诺言、协议”等宾语使用。