TO GET + DIRECT OBJECT, ADJECTIVE OR PREPOSITION

TO GET + direct object = to obtain, to receive, to buy:

To obtain

• She got her driving license last week.
• They got permission to live in Switzerland.

To receive

• I got a letter from my friend in Nigeria.
• He gets £1,000 a year from his father.

To buy

• She got a new coat from Zappaloni in Rome.
• We got a new television for the sitting room.

 

TO GET + place expression = reach, arrive at a place:

• We got to London around 6 p.m.
• What time will we get there?
• When did you get back from New York?

 

TO GET + adjective = to become, show a change of state:

• It's getting hotter.
• By the time they reached the house they were getting hungry.
• I'm getting tired of all this nonsense.
• My mother's getting old and needs looking after.
• It gets dark very early in the winter.
• Don't touch the stove until is gets cool.

 

TO GET + preposition / adverb is used in many phrasal verbs. Here are some of the most common ones:

Phrasal Verb	Meaning
get at	try to express
get away with	escape punishment for a crime or bad action
get by	manage (financially)
get down	descend; depress
get off	leave a form of transport (train, bus, bicycle, plane)
get on	enter/sit on a form of transport (train, bus, bicycle, plane); have a relationship with someone; manage
get out of	avoid doing something, especially a duty
get over	recover (from an illness, a surprise)
get through	use or finish the supply of something
get up	leave your bed
get up to	do - usually something bad

Examples:
a. He got on his bicycle and rode down the street.
b. He gets up at 6.00 a.m. every morning.
c. She got out of the washing-up every day, even when it was her turn.
d. We got off the train just before the bomb exploded.
e. We've got through all the sugar - can you buy some more?
f. The children are very quiet - I wonder what they're getting up to.