I was able to find four “went out” phrases in the whole Tom Sawyer text. I’m studying prepositions and looking at the uses of “at.” I found about 330 instances of “at” in the text, and I’ll share some of them gradually here. But for now, the four “went out” phrases I mentioned were analyzed by my best friend ChatGPT, and I’m sharing the analysis in case you want to take a look.

First, a quick look at all four with their Persian translations (the translations are for my own understanding, but Persian speakers might want to comment on them as well)

1. As he went out at the door he said: “Siddy, I’ll lick you for that.”
   «وقتی از در رفت بیرون، گفت: «سیدی، بابت اون می‌زنمت
   

2. She went out to see for herself;
   رفت بیرون که خودش ببینه

3. However, even inquests went out of vogue at last, and ceased to torture Tom’s conscience.
   هر چند که در نهایت این گونه تحقیقات هم کنار گذاشته شدن و دیگه وجدان تام رو عذاب نمی‌دادن
   
   (After some discussion with ChatGPT, I convinced it to accept this translation.) This is a part of the text that always made me laugh when I read the book. You really need to read the full text to see why it’s funny. I love this Tom.

4. …and they went out on the sandbar and lay down to sleep.
   و به سمت ماسه‌زار رفتن و روی ماسه‌ها دراز کشیدن که بخوابن.

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Sentence 1:

*As he went out at the door he said: “Siddy, I’ll lick you for that.”

Analysis

1. Verb phrase:

• “went out” = phrasal verb meaning exiting / leaving.

• Past tense of “go out.”

2. Preposition:

• “at” in “at the door” emphasizes the specific point / location where he exits.

• Correct and idiomatic.

3. Why not “from the door”?

• “from” emphasizes movement away from a point rather than the location of the exit.

• Saying “went out from the door” sounds awkward and unnatural in English narrative style.

4. Meaning of the sentence:

• He exited through the door and spoke, emphasizing the location of the exit rather than the motion.
  

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Sentence 2:

*She went out to see for herself;

Analysis

1. Verb phrase:

• “went out” = phrasal verb meaning leaving / exiting.

• Past tense of “go out.”

2. Infinitive phrase / purpose:

• “to see” = infinitive showing purpose of the action.

• Explains why she went out: to see → in order to see.

3. Idiomatic expression:

• “for herself” = idiomatic, meaning personally, to verify or witness something firsthand.

• Without “for herself”:

  • She went out to see herself → would literally mean she went out to look at herself (awkward and incorrect in context).

4. Meaning of the sentence:

• She went out with the purpose of personally observing or verifying the situation.

• Emphasis: personal verification / firsthand experience, not merely leaving or being alone.

Key points:

• “went out” = leaving / exiting.

• “to see” = purpose (infinitive of purpose).

• “for herself” = idiomatic; cannot be replaced with just “herself” or “by herself” without changing meaning.
  

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Sentence 3:

*However, even inquests went out of vogue at last, and ceased to torture Tom’s conscience.

Analysis

1. Conjunction / Transition:

• “However” = introduces contrast or change in the narrative.

• Signals that what follows is different from the previous situation (the investigations are no longer continuing).

2. Subject:

• “inquests” = plural countable noun meaning formal investigations, usually about deaths.

• No “the” is used because it refers to inquests in general, not specific ones.

3. Verb phrase / idiomatic expression:

• “went out of vogue” = idiomatic expression meaning stopped being done / became uncommon / was no longer practiced.

• Contextually: the children stopped doing these inquests, not that inquests literally went out of fashion.

• Fully idiomatic: fits naturally with a plural noun referring to a type of activity.

4. Adverbial phrase:

• “at last” = emphasizes that this happened finally, after some time.

5. Coordinated clause:

• “and ceased to torture Tom’s conscience” = shows the result of the previous clause.

• The investigations stopping relieves Tom from guilt / worry.

Meaning of the sentence:

• Eventually, even these kinds of investigations stopped happening, and as a result, Tom no longer felt guilty or troubled by them.

Key points / notes:

• “even inquests” → general reference, no “the” needed.

• “went out of vogue” → idiomatic; in context, means stopped / discontinued.

• Highlights change in the story: the troublesome activity ends, easing Tom’s conscience.
  
  
  

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Sentence 4:

*… and they went out on the sandbar and lay down to sleep.

Analysis

1. Verb phrase:

• “went out” = phrasal verb meaning moved to / went to a location.

• Past tense of “go out.”

2. Preposition / location:

• “on the sandbar” = specifies the surface / location where they went.

• Here, “on” is natural because a sandbar is a surface they can walk on / lie on.

3. Coordinated verb phrase:

• “and lay down to sleep” = second action coordinated with “went out.”

• “lay down” = past tense of “lie down,” meaning recline / rest.

• Purpose: to sleep.

4. Meaning of the sentence:

• The boys went to the sandbar and reclined there to sleep.

• Focus: motion to a location + subsequent action.

Key points / notes:

• Prepositions after “went out” differ depending on context:

  • “went out at the door” → specific point of exit

  • “went out to see for herself” → purpose

  • “went out of vogue” → idiomatic, stopped happening

  • “went out on the sandbar” → location / surface

• This shows how “went out + preposition” is highly context-dependent.
  
  

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Overall conclusion:

“Went out” alone can mean: exiting, moving to a location, or stopping (idiomatic).

The preposition or phrase that follows determines the exact meaning:

“at” → point of exit
“to” → purpose / goal
“of” (idiomatic) → stopped / discontinued
“on” → location / surface for action

Thus, the same simple verb in these four sentences takes four different meanings, and understanding the following preposition is essential for accurate comprehension and translation.