GET - 7 Most Common Uses of the Verb GET - Learn How to Use GET Correctly - English Vocabulary

Hello and welcome.

In this lesson, I will teach you

the seven most common uses of the verb ‘get’.

So let’s start.

Before we get into the lesson, as always, if you

have any questions, just let me know in the comments

section below, and I will talk to you there.

Also, there is a quiz at the end

of hits lesson to test your understanding.

Now, the most common meaning of ‘get’ is to mean

receive, obtain, or buy something.

For example, “I got some old books from my

grandfather.”

It means “I received some old books”.

In the next example, “We’ve gotten 50 emails in the

past three days.”

It means “We have received 50

emails.”

Notice that the first sentence is in the past

simple tense and the second sentence is in the present

perfect tense.

So in sentence number two, we are

using the third form of ‘get’ – the past participle

form.

The verb ‘get ’ is irregular – that is, we

don’t say ‘getted’ to make the past simple or past

participle forms.

The correct forms are ‘get’,

‘got’, and ‘gotten’.

In American English, ‘gotten’

is more common, and in British English, ‘got’ is

the preferred past participle form.

So in number two, you could say

“We’ve got 50 emails”.

That would be the British

English form.

Here are two more examples: “Harry just got a job at

the airport.”

It means he obtained a job, or that he

was hired for a job at the airport.

And finally, “What are you getting me for my

birthday?”

It means “What present are you going to

buy for me for my birthday?”

OK, let’s move on to the second use.

In British English, the expression ‘have got’ is

used a lot to mean ‘have’.

It’s used in American English as well but it’s

more common in British English.

This expression is used in two ways – the

first is to talk about ownership or relationship.

For example, “I’ve got two sisters.”, “Sara has got

Wi-Fi at home.”, “Have you got time for a coffee?”

The second function is to express obligation or

necessity (that is, by using ‘have got to’ in the

place of ‘have to’).

Like in these examples: “You’ve

got to get up early tomorrow.”

or “He has got to learn German to live in

Austria.”

In all of these sentences, you can use

‘have’ or ‘has’ instead of ‘have got’ or ‘has got’ and

the meaning would be the same.

But there is an important point here.

When we use ‘have got’ in these two

ways, it does not have a past tense.

To change these sentences to the past, just

use ‘had’.

For example, say “Sara had Wi-Fi at home.”

which means she doesn’t have it now.

Or “He had to learn German to live in

Austria.”

Don’t use ‘had got’ to mean ‘had’ – it’s

wrong.

Remember that.

Alright, the third use of ‘get’ is to make offers and

requests.

Take this question for example:

“Could you get me the menu, please?”

You might say this at a restaurant.

Here, ‘get’ means ‘bring’.

It’s like asking “Could you

bring me the menu?”

Instead of ‘the menu’, you can say

‘get me a cup of coffee’, ‘get me a sandwich’,

anything.

The next example, “Can I get you something to

drink?” is an offer.

Here, I’m offering to bring you

something to drink.

It’s very common to say this to

a guest, so the next time you have a friend over at

your place, ask your friend, “Hey, can I get you

something to drink?

Or something to eat, maybe?”

OK, let’s move on to the next use.

The verb ‘get ’ is often used when we want

to talk about traveling to mean to arrive or to reach

a place.

For example, “I got home late yesterday

evening because of the traffic.”

That means I reached home late.

A common question that is asked on

the phone is “What time will you get here?”

That means, what time are you

going to reach this place?

Here’s another common example: “I don’t think

we’ll get to the movie theater on time.”

That means, we’re running late –

we’re going to miss the start of the movie.

And here’s one last example –

“Call me as soon as you get to the office.”

Notice that in the first two examples, after ‘get’

we have adverbs – ‘home’ and ‘here’.

Because they are adverbs, we don’t use

‘to’.

But in the last two examples, we use ‘to’

because we have nouns – ‘the movie theater’ and

‘the office.’

Remember that.

Alright, the fifth use of ‘get ’ is to mean to become

or to change.

For example, “The kids got really scared

when they saw the spider.”

That means they became scared.

In this type of sentence, you have ‘get’

followed by an adjective.

In the next example, “I’ve made sandwiches in case we

get hungry.”

Similarly, “I keep forgetting things.

I think I’m getting old!”

This is a common expression and it’s said humorously

(that is, in a funny way).

In the final example – “Arnold and Erika got

married in 2011.”

The phrase ‘get married’ is

very popular.

You will hear it a lot.

Other common ones are ‘get ready’, ‘get

dressed’, ‘get cleaned up’ etc.

OK, use number six is to talk about bad experiences

or events.

For example, “I got fired for being late to

work.”

That means, I went late to work and my boss

fired me (that is, I lost my job).

The next example is similar – “Vijay’s

wallet got stolen when he was walking in the park.”

So maybe he got pickpocketed.

Notice that both of these sentences are

in the passive voice.

“I got fired” means “My boss

fired me.”

“His wallet got stolen” means “Somebody

stole his wallet.”

The words ‘fired’ and ‘stolen’

are verbs in the past participle or the third

form.

But you can also talk about bad experiences with

adjectives.

For example, “Don’t eat too much candy

or you might get sick.”

(‘sick’ is an adjective).

Or nouns such as “I got a cold from one of my

friends.”

(‘a cold’ is a noun).

Alright, and the final use of the verb ‘get ’ is to

mean ‘understand’.

Probably the most common expression

in this meaning is “I don’t get it”.

This is an informal way of saying “I

don’t understand it.”

Another popular expression is the opposite – “I get

it.”

It means “I understand it.”

Or if someone (like your boss) gives you an

instruction like “Send me the report by tomorrow” you

might say “Got it!”.

It’s short for “I’ve got it”

meaning “I have understood it.”

A related expression is “Do you get what I’m

saying?” – this is also informal, and it’s just a

way of asking, “Do you understand what I’m

saying?”

These are all useful expressions that you

can use in conversation.

Alright, if you’re ready, now it’s time for the quiz.

There are ten sentences on the screen, but you see that

they’re all jumbled up.

Stop the video, rearrange them

into correct sentences, then play the video again and

check.

Alright, number one is “I got a new laptop for Christmas

from my dad.”

You can also say “I got a new laptop from

my dad for Christmas.”

Here, ‘got’ means ‘received’.

Number two – “Grace has got a great family.”

In this sentence, ‘has got’ means

‘have’, so it’s like saying “Grace has a great family.”

Number three – “You have got to eat a good breakfast every

morning.”

‘You’ve got to’ means ‘you have to.’

Number four – “Could you get me a

glass of water?”

Here, ‘get’ means ‘bring’.

Number five – “Make sure you get to the

airport on time.”

‘Get’ means ‘reach.’

Number six – “What time do the kids get home

from school?”

Again ‘get’ means reach here but we don’t

use ‘to’ because ‘home’ is an adverb.

Number seven is “My brother got engaged last

week.”

You could also say, “Last week, my brother got

engaged.”

This means he became engaged, that is, he

has agreed to get married to a woman sometime in the

future.

Number eight – “Javier got arrested for drunk driving

yesterday.”

You could also say “Yesterday, Javier got

arrested for drunk driving.”

We use ‘get’ or ‘got’ here to show that something bad

happened to Javier – he was arrested.

Number nine – “I don’t get why horror movies

are so popular.”

‘Get’ means understand in this sentence.

So it’s like saying “I don’t understand why horror movies

are so popular.

Why do people like them so much?”

And finally number ten is “It was

confusing at first but I get it now.”

Again, ‘get’ means ‘understand’.

OK, how many answers did you get right?

Let me know in the comments.

This lesson came from a request by four

viewers – Akbar Deen, Irwin Cornejo Retiz, Seema, and

Rakesh from Andhra Pradesh, India.

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And I will see you in another

lesson soon.