All about GET

 

 

 

The verb get is one of the most common in English. Get is used as a stand alone verb with various meanings. However, get also combines with a variety of prepositions to form phrasal verbs with a wide range of meanings.

Here is a list of uses for get as a main verb, get in phrasal verbs, get in idiomatic usage, and the present perfect form of have got to indicate possession.

Get Alone

arrive	She got to work an hour late.
receive	I got a book for my birthday.
earn	I get $7 an hour.
bring or fetch	Can you get that book for me?
understand	Do you get the lesson?
affected by, or catch	He got a cold last week.
catch or take	I got the 4:55 train to New York.
communicate with	I got him by phone.
have a strong effect on	That film really got me.
capture or seize	The police got him at the station.

Get in Phrasal Verbs

I have chosen the main meanings to help you begin to learn phrasal verbs with get. However, these are not all meanings of these common phrasal verbs.

get about	be socially active	Tom really gets about, doesn't he?
get at	mean something	I'm trying to get at the truth.
get ahead	be successful	It's very difficult to get ahead nowadays.
get away	escape	The thief got away from the police.
get back	recover or retrieve	I got my books back from Tom.
get by	To survive financially	Sally gets by on just $1,000 a month.
get in	enter a car, train etc.	Come on, get in! Let's go.
get into	be accepted	He got into the university of his choice.
get off	exit from a train, bus etc.	Jerry got off at 52nd Street.
get on with	have a good relationship with	I really get on well with Janet.
get out	leave	I got out of class at 3.30.
get over	recover from an illness or bad occurrence	He got over his operation very quickly.
get through	succeed in an examination, test etc.	That was a difficult test to get through, wasn't it?
get up	get out of bed	I got up at 7 this morning.

Get Idiomatic Usage

Get is often used in an idiomatic manner. Here are some of get in various popular idioms.

get to it	begin doing something	Let's get to it! It's late.
gotta	have to	I gotta go it's late (note: not used in written English)
have got to	have to	I've got to hurry up!
get down to business	begin working	Tom arrived at 12 and immediately got down to business.
get together	meet	Let's get together this weekend.
get it together get something	improve one's performance understand	Come on! Get it together, you are playing horrible tennis. Do you get what he means?

Get for Possession

Get is also used to indicate possession in the present perfect use of have got. This form can indicate that someone has an object, a friend or relative, or even a situation.

• I've got two children.
• Sheila has got an appointment at three o'clock.
• Have you got a TV in your kitchen?

Have got is used in both American and British English though it is more common in British English. Remember that the past participle form of get is gotten in American English, but, in British English, remains got. Despite this usage, Americans also use have got to indicate possession only. In other cases, the past participle gotten is used.

For possession:

• He's got a beautiful smile.
• They've got friends in Dallas.

Other forms of get in American English:

• I haven't gotten through much of the work today. (get through as phrasal verb)
• Andreas has gotten to work late every day this week. (get = arrive)