GET

receive, obtain

• get [NP] - Where did you get your shoes from?

bring

• get [NP] - Let me go get my glasses
• get [NP] [NP] - Get John a drink.
• get [NP] for [NP] - Get a drink for John.

state/condition

become

• get [Adj]
  • Your coffee is getting cold
  • They have gotten interested.
  • They got tired

(get-passive)

• get [V3]
  • This window got broken
  • They plan to get married in the summer

see [[Passive#get-passive|get-passive]]

Causative

• get [NP] [Adj]
  • She had to get the kids ready for school (=prepare)
• get [NP] [V3] -
  • I’m trying to get this article finished by Thursday
  • They got their house built (causative =They build their house)
• get [NP] to [Verb] - I can’t get this printer to work!

	Present	Past	Modal
base form	get(s) object to verb	got object to verb	(modal) get object to verb
V3 form (simple)	get(s) object V3	got object V3	(modal) get object V3
V3 form (Progressive)	(am/are/is) getting object V3	(was/were) getting object V3

• I will get the doctor to give you a medicine.

get-pseudo-passives (Non-Causative)

• get [NP] [V3]
  • They got their bike stolen today (=Their bike got stolen today)
  • We got our car radio stolen twice on holiday.
  • I get my hair done about once a month.

Get-pseudo-passives and have-pseudo-passive can often both be used to express causative and non-causative meanings. The have-passive is more formal than the get-passive

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prepare

• get [NP] - I’ll do the main course, if you get the salad
• get [NP] ready - I’ll put the kids to bed while you’re getting dinner ready

arrive, move

• get (to/into) a [place] - If you get to the restaurant before us, just wait at the bar.
• get [object] (to/into) a [place] - my honesty often gets me into trouble

catch

• get [object] - the police get him

deal with

• get [object] - Someone’s at the door - would you get it, please?

understand

• get [object] - I told that joke to Sophia, but she didn’t get it.

have chance

• get to [verb] -
  • I never get to see her now that she works somewhere else.
  • That’s great advice. I’m so glad I got to talk to you.
  • It was a lot of fun. I got to see Arkansas. I got to see that country.

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Expressions

• They got a divorce in 1998. (compare the more formal: They divorced in 1998.)

Phrasal verbs

• get up to – do
• get on with (someone) – have a good relationship
• get over (something/someone) – recover from
• get away with (something) – be successful in something
• get at (someone) – criticize someone repeatedly
• get rid of (something) – remove/throw away something
• get out of (doing something) – avoid something you don’t want to do
• get off lightly – to experience less trouble than expected
• get through to (someone) – successfully explain something
• get wound up (about something) – get angry about something
• get to - to arrive

Informal usage

• annoy - It really gets to me the way we’re expected to actually laugh at his pathetic jokes!
• confuse - Give him a technical question - that’ll really get him!
• emotion - That part in the film when he finds out that his daughter is alive - that always gets me!
• punished, injured - “wait until dad comes home, then you’ll get it!”