Study Resource: Breaking down expressions with “get” in English
In English, we can use the verbNo definition set for verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. get in a lot of different ways! Let’s break it down:
Formula | Explanation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
get + adjectiveNo definition set for adjectiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. | Shows that the subjectNo definition set for subjectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. changed states accidentally, on its own, or without a clear cause | The apples got ripe. My cat got lost. I got sleepy. Her hair got wet. |
Cannot be used with a by-phrase because it happens “by accident” | by-phrase ❌Her hair got wet by the rain. | |
get + "past participleNo definition set for past participleLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. phrase" | Shows that the subject changed states, but usually we understand that someone or something caused it | They got fired. Johan got kicked. Her sister got asked to the dance. |
You can say who did it by adding a by-phrase | by-phrase Johan got kicked by his horse. The car got stolen by criminals. The criminals got caught by the police. | |
These are often called get-passives, because they are used a lot like true passive verbsNo definition set for passive verbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. using be | by-phrase Johan got kicked by his horse. Johan was kicked by his horse. | |
Usually get-passives are preferred over true passives in casual speech | by-phrase I got hit by the baseball. → less formal I was hit by the baseball. → more formal | |
Note the difference between get-passives and causative get (see below)
| causative "get" The criminals got caught by the police. → The police did their jobs. The criminals got themselves caught by the police. → The criminals made a mistake that caused or allowed the police to catch them. | |
get + noun | Says that the subject comes into possession of an object | I got a piece of cake. She got a gift for her birthday. |
This can mean that you receive something as a gift or that you purchase or intentionally obtain something | I got a puppy for my birthday. → as a gift I got a puppy for my son. → by purchase | |
get + object + past participleNo definition set for past participleLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. phrase1 | Says that the subject causes something to happen to the object Note that the subject does not actually do the action | I got the criminals caught. → I did something that caused the police to capture the criminals She got her friend promoted. → She did something that caused her boss to promote her friend |
Replace the object with object pronounsNo definition set for object pronounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or reflexive pronounsNo definition set for reflexive pronounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. | She got us hired. She got herself promoted. | |
You can use a by-phrase to show who actually did the action | I got them caught by the police. She got herself hit by the ball. | |
get + object + infinitiveNo definition set for infinitiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. verb phrase2 | Says that the subject indirectly caused the object to do something | I got my friend to buy the tickets. → I did something that caused my friend to buy the tickets |
Replace the object with object pronounsNo definition set for object pronounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or reflexive pronounsNo definition set for reflexive pronounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. | I got them to leave me alone. I got myself to wake up on time. | |
Note the difference in meaning between got+ reflexive pronoun and a simple sentence | I woke up on time. → Conveys a fact: it happened I got myself to wake up on time. → Implies extra effort, it was difficult, required a plan, you tricked yourself, etc. | |
We do not usually use get before a linking verb (be, seem, become…). Instead, use another causative verb like make | ❌The shirt ✅The shirt made him seem tall. | |
This also means that you cannot use get before a passive infinitive. Instead, just leave out the verb to be | ❌I got the criminals ✅I got the criminals caught. | |
When you are causing someone or something to move from one place to another, the second verb can be omitted | I got my cat into a cage.3 She got herself over the fence.4 We got him into the car.3 | |
When you are causing yourself to move from one place to another, both the second verb and the reflexive pronoun can be omitted | I got over the fence.4 → I used effort to move over the fence Get inside! → Use effort to move into a building! | |
get + adverb/prepositions | These are simple phrasal verbs that have fixed meanings Most take an object after the preposition, but some can be used without an object (e.g. get up, get along, get around, get in touch) Only get up is a separable phrasal verb | get up(move out of bed in the morning)get over (recover from an emotional blow)get into(become interested in something)get around(to move from place-to-place; to move person-to-person in relationships; to avoid a rule or obstacle)get out of (to avoid a responsibility)get in touch/contact (with)(to start communicating with someone)get on (to enter a large or open vehicle)get off (to exit a large or open vehicle)get along (with)(to have an easy relationship with someone) |
When using causative get before a phrasal verb with get, you only need to use the causative get But, note that none of these are separable phrasal verbs, because the noun in between is not undergoing the action of the phrasal verb | I got into Superman comics. → I became interested in Superman comics. I got him (to get) into Superman comics. → I did something that made him “get into” Superman comics. ❌I got Superman into. | |
I got on the train. → I boarded the train. I got her (to get) on the train. → I did something that made her “get on” the train. ❌I got the train on. | ||
I got up. → I moved out of bed. I got them (to get) up. → I did something that made them “get up.” |
Notes:
1 Past participles are usually formed like this: root + -ed, but some of them are irregular. In an irregular verb chart, the past participle is found in the third column. A “past participle phrase” is formed with the verb and its objects and modifiers.
2 Infinitive verbs are the dictionary form: to + root. An “infinitive verb phrase” can include a verb and its objects.
3 Note: This is not the phrasal verb get into(become interested). This literally refers to becoming physically inside a space.
4 Note: This is not the phrasal verb get over(to recover from something). This literally refers to being above/over something.
