Getting to Know the Verb 'Get'

Getting to Know the Verb 'Get'

From VOA Learning¹ English, this is Everyday Grammar.

So, Alice, what did you do last night?

Well, I was at home, getting ready to go to the movies. I was getting my shoes on when I got a feeling that something strange was going to happen.

I've gotten those feelings, too.

Then, I left the house, and got a cab², and got to the movies as fast as I could.

Did you get there on time?

Yes! But as soon as I got into the theater, I got a phone call from someone whose voice I didn’t recognize. That’s when things started to get weird…

Did you notice anything unusual in this story? The verb get is used 10 times -- and with several different meanings.

Get is one of the most commonly used, most tricky³, and sometimes most hated words for English learners. When learning this verb, it is best to keep a sense of humor⁴.

That is because the verb has more than 50 uses, such as when it appears as part of at least 12 phrasal verbs or other expressions.

Today on Everyday Grammar, we explore this simple three-letter word with many meanings. But don’t worry. By the time you come to the end of the program, we hope you will begin to enjoy this captivating and changeable verb.

We will consider a few of the most common meanings of get and offer some ideas on how to use the verb.

Let’s start with a very common meaning of get, which is to receive, obtain, or buy. The structure is:

get + direct object

Listening or reading for clues and then recognizing the meaning from those clues is the best way of explaining this meaning.

For example, take the following sentence:

I got an email from my friend Penelope.

In this sentence, does ‘got’ mean received, obtained, or bought?

Here, the word got means received. We know that the person did not buy the email. We also know that they did not obtain it, since obtain means to acquire by effort.

Let’s try another sentence:

I just got a new sofa!

In this example, does got mean received, obtained, or bought? It probably means bought, since the speaker does not provide any evidence that it was received.

But, in this statement, whether the speaker bought the sofa or obtained it in some other way is not very important. The most important thing to know here is that the speaker did not receive the sofa – they obtained it in some way.

Now, let’s turn to a different meaning of get. This one means to bring or fetch. The structure is:

get + direct object

Listen to this example:

I’m going outside to get the mail.

Sometimes, however, the structure can be:

get + indirect⁵ object + direct object

Listen to the example:

Could you get me my phone? It’s in the bedroom upstairs.

In this sentence, the direct object is my phone and the indirect object is me. This is a structure you can use to ask someone to bring something to you. You would probably not use it unless the thing were fairly close. For example, if you left your mobile⁶ phone at a friend’s house, and you will see the friend tomorrow, you would not say:

Could you get me my phone tomorrow?

Instead, you would say:

Could you bring me my phone tomorrow?

Now, you try it. Ask someone to bring something nearby to you.

Our next meaning of get is to arrive somewhere. There are two structures here. The first is:

get + location adverb

The second is:

get + to + location

Listen to a few examples:

What time will you get here?

I got to Tokyo at 6 a.m.

I got to the concert late.

In these examples, the clue to the meaning of get is the name of a place right after the verb, such as “Tokyo,” “the movies,” “here” or “there.”

Our last meaning of get on today’s program is to become. The structure is:

get + adjective⁷

Listen to a few examples:

The food is getting cold.

I get nervous when I have to speak in public.

In this use, the verb get simply replaces the verb become. You will recognize this easily when you hear or see an adjective immediately after get.

Here are three suggestions to help you better understand and use the meanings of get:

Tip #1: Guess the meaning from clues

Guessing can be your best friend when trying to understand and use the meanings of get. Use context⁸ clues to help you know how get is used. Context means words that are used with or next to a specific word or expression that helps explain its meaning.

Look for a direct object or a location adverb or an adjective before or after the verb get. These will help you to know its intended meaning.

Tip #2: Practice, practice, practice

Read and listen to as much as you can in English. The more you do this, the more easily you will be able to use clues as a tool to quickly understand meaning. Americans, the British, and other native English speakers can recognize these clues very quickly. You can learn to do this, too! Try to immerse⁹ yourself in English by listening to Learning English podcasts, watching movies and YouTube videos, and listening to music.

Tip #3: Use other verbs

If you are not sure how to use some of the meanings of get, you can instead use verbs with similar meanings. Sometimes the other verbs sound natural, and other times they sound formal. For example, you can say, “I just bought a new sofa!” and it sounds perfectly¹⁰ natural. By comparison¹¹, saying, “I arrived home at 10 pm” sounds very official. Yet, both are correct and can be used.

Orin Hargraves is a lexicographer¹². He writes and studies dictionaries. Hargraves recently told Everyday Grammar that, “Many of the jobs that we currently¹³ give to get…can also be expressed by other verbs.” Hargraves’ advice is good advice.

The Everyday Grammar team hopes you enjoyed learning a few of the many meanings of the verb get. So, get going and enjoy this wonderful verb. We've got to go now. But keep listening in the coming weeks for more words with many meanings.

Words in This Story

verb - n. a word that is usually one of the main parts of a sentence and that expresses an action, an occurrence¹⁴, or a state of being

phrasal verb - n. a group of words that functions as a verb and is made up of a verb and a preposition¹⁵, an adverb, or both

obtain - v. to gain or get, usually by effort

acquire - v. to come to own something

fetch - v. to go after and bring back someone or something

clue - n. something that helps a person find something, understand something, or solve a mystery or puzzle

intend - v. to have something in your mind as a purpose or goal

guess - v. to form an opinion or give an answer about something when you do not know much or anything about it

sofa - n. a long and comfortable piece of furniture on which a person can sit or lie down

immerse - v. to put (something) in a liquid so that all parts are completely covered

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 cab   

n.计程车，出租车，出租单马车；vi.乘出租马车

参考例句：

• The cab drove over his legs.马车从他腿上碾过。
• Shall we walk or take a cab?我们步行还是坐出租车？

3 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

4 humor   

n.(humour)幽默，诙谐

参考例句：

• He is distinguished for his sense of humor.他以其幽默感著称。
• American humor is founded largely on hyperbole.美式幽默主要以夸张为基础。

5 indirect   

adj.间接的，转弯抹角的，非直接的

参考例句：

• What he said was very indirect.他的话很婉转。
• He gave only an indirect answer.他只作了间接的回答。

6 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

7 adjective   

n.形容词；adj.形容词的，用作形容词的

参考例句：

• Don't apply that adjective to me.不要用那个字眼来形容我。
• The adjective loose has several senses. 形容词loose有几个义项。

8 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。

9 immerse   

v.使沉浸在，使深陷于；使浸没在

参考例句：

• Immerse the cloth in the dye for twenty minutes.把布浸在染料里20分钟。
• Don't immerse yourself in the infliction too long.不要长时间沉浸在痛苦经历中。

10 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

11 comparison   

n.比较，对照；比拟，比喻

参考例句：

• They make a comparison of New York to a beehive.他们把纽约比作一个蜂巢。
• This dress is really cheaper by comparison.比较起来，这件衣服确实便宜。

12 lexicographer   

n.辞典编纂人

参考例句：

• A lexicographer's job is to describe the language.词典编纂者的工作就是对语言加以描述。
• The lexicographer knew that the English lexis was changing. 字典编纂者知道英语词汇在不断变化。

13 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

14 occurrence   

n.发生，出现，事件，发生的事件

参考例句：

• Two things account for its occurrence.发生这件事的原因有两个。
• For a military commander，winning or losing a battle is a common occurrence.胜败乃兵家常事。

15 preposition   

n.介词

参考例句：

• You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
• We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。