University of Freiburg
Englisches Seminar
Freiburg, Germany
Khaled Saifulla
‘Get’ in Conversation and Academic Writing (British English)
‘Get’ is used in diverse ways in English. According to
the context of the situation and structure, it expresses multiple meanings in
sentences. Some rules and examples of ‘Get’ list below.
i. Get + noun/pronoun:
→I got a letter from Lucy this
morning. (receive)
→Can you come and get me from the
station when I arrive?
→I didn't get the joke. (understand)
ii. Get + adjective: (getting old)
→As man gets old, his memory gets worse.
(become)
→My feet are getting cold.
iii. get + adverb particle or preposition:
→I often get up at five o'clock,
(wake up)
→You can't get him out of bed in the
morning. (make sb/sth move)
iv. get + past participle: get washed. Dressed,
married etc
→You've got five minutes to get dressed.
→She's getting married in June.
v. passive auxiliary:
→He got caught.
vi. get ... ing; get + infinitive:
→We'd better get moving - it's late.
→We don't get to see her - she is too busy.
→After a few weeks, I got to like the job better.
→She's nice when you get to know her.
vii. get + object + verb form:
→causative: Don't get him talking.
→causative: get something done:
→I must get my watch repaired.
→I'm going to get my hair cut this afternoon.
Some mixed examples of ‘get’:
→Incorrect: It is getting winter.
→Correct: It is getting to be winter.
→incorrect: Do you have got a headache?
→Correct: Have you got a headache?
Basically, adverb is not used between a verb and
object.
→ Incorrect: I get often headaches.
→Correct: I often get headaches.
→I’ll be in bed by the time you get home. (reach)
→I could get a better job if I spoke French/ spoke a
foreign language. (= I would be able to ...)
→We'll get there as soon as you do/will.
→I'm getting fatter and fatter.
→I managed to get to the meeting in time. (reach)
→In the end, you can't get fit without exercise.
→When are you going to get a job? (gain sth)
→Did you know I'm getting a new job?
→Get your coat on. (wear clothes)
→It was getting very dark. (informal).
→You get younger every day. (informal)
→Get well soon. (not Get well early.)
→I usually get up early and go to bed early. (not I
usually get up soon….)
→Some of us want to get to sleep. (NOT Some us....)
→I’m getting pissed off with London. (fed up)
→I took three hours to get home last night. (arrive)
→She takes all day to get out of the bathroom.
(come out)
→I like those ear-rings. Where did you get them? (buy)
→I'll think about it and get back to you.
Reference
Swan, M. (2016). Practical English usage. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
