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get: basic structures and meanings

Get is one of the commonest words in English, and is used in many different ways. It is sometimes avoided in a very formal style, but it is correct and natural in most kinds of speech and writing. The meaning of get depends on what kind of word comes after it. With a direct object, the basic meaning is ‘obtain’, ‘come to have’; with other kinds of word, the basic meaning is ‘become’, ‘come to be’.

get + noun/pronoun: I got an email​

With a direct object (noun or pronoun), get usually means ‘receive’, ‘fetch’, ‘obtain’, ‘catch’ or something similar. The exact meaning depends on the object.

  • I got an email from Lucy this morning.
  • Can you come and get me from the station when I arrive?
  • If I listen to loud music I get a headache.
  • If you get a number 6 bus, it stops right outside our house.

Get can be used with two objects (see here).

  • Let me get you a drink.

Other meanings are sometimes possible.

  • I didn’t get the joke. (= understand)
  • I’ll get you for this, you bastard. (= punish, make suffer)

Get + noun is not normally used to mean ‘become’. To express this meaning, we can use get to be + noun (see here) below).

  • Wayne’s getting to be a lovely kid. (not Wayne’s getting a lovely kid.)

get + adjective: getting old​

Before an adjective, get usually means ‘become’.

  • As you get old, your memory gets worse.
  • My feet are getting cold.

With object + adjective, the meaning is ‘make somebody/something become’.

  • It’s time to get the kids ready for school.
  • I can’t get my hands warm.
  • We must get the house clean before your mother arrives.
note

For go + adjective (go green, go blind, etc), and the differences between get, go, become, turn, etc, (see here).

get + adverb particle or preposition: get out​

Before an adverb particle (like up, away, out) or a preposition, get nearly always refers to a movement of some kind. (For the difference between get and go, (see here).)

  • I often get up at five o’clock.
  • I went to see him, but he told me to get out.
  • Would you mind getting off my foot?

In some idioms the meaning is different – e.g. get to a place (= arrive at …); get over something (= recover from); get on with somebody (= have a good relationship with).

With an object, the structure usually means ‘make somebody/something move’.

  • You can’t get him out of bed in the morning.
  • Would you mind getting your papers off my desk?
  • Have you ever tried to get toothpaste back into the tube?
  • The car’s OK – it gets me from A to B.

get + past participle: get washed, dressed, married, etc​

Get can be used with a past participle. This structure often has a reflexive meaning, to talk about things that we ‘do to ourselves’. Common expressions are get washed, get dressed, get lost, get drowned, get engaged/married/divorced.

  • You’ve got five minutes to get dressed.
  • She’s getting married in June.

get …ing; get + infinitive​

Get …ing is sometimes used informally to mean ‘start …ing’, especially in the expressions get moving, get going.

  • We’d better get moving – it’s late.

With an infinitive, get can mean ‘manage’, ‘have an opportunity’ or ‘be allowed’.

  • We didn’t get to see her – she was too busy.
  • When do I get to meet your new boyfriend?

Get + infinitive can also suggest gradual development.

  • He’s nice when you get to know him.
  • You’ll get to speak English more easily as time goes by.

got and gotten​

In British English the past participle of get is got. In American English the past participle is gotten (e.g. You’ve gotten us in a lot of trouble) except in the structure have got (see here).

note

For get as a passive auxiliary (e.g. I get paid on Fridays), (see here).

For causative and other uses of get + object + verb form, (see here).