Get

I’d like to dedicate this blog post to my outstanding student, Joy Li, in Shenzhen, China, who has visited us in Virginia before for a summer and recently asked this great question!

 

While teaching a basic Step 1 English class just now, we were practicing the short -e sound and the word “get.” We discussed how the word “get” has MANY meanings and uses!

 

By itself, it means “to pick up, receive, or take possession of.”

• Please get some milk and eggs at the store.
• Get a cup of water if you’re thirsty.
• We often get snow in January or February.
• I hope we get some rain soon because mom’s flowers are too dry.

 

It can also mean “to change or become.”

• It’s supposed to get cold this weekend.
• Lots of retired people move to Florida because it doesn’t get very cold there.
• Virginia has a pretty mild climate but it can get pretty hot in the summers. 

 

But when used with some other words, it has MANY more meanings!

 

get better: to recover from an illness or improve at something

• If you get enough sleep you’ll get better after awhile.
• If you want your English to get better, join an online class with DreyerCoaching.com! 

 

get cracking (get crackin’): to start work quickly and energetically; to get moving quickly

• “Exams start next week, so you’d better get crackin’ with your reviews,” Mr. Crawford challenged his students.
• “The plane leaves in three hours so we’d better get crackin’ and get to the airport soon; the plane won’t wait for us,” Dad called out.
• “Get cracking” is also a slogan from American pistachio growers. Yum! 

 

get done: to finish or complete a task

• Mom says we need to get done cleaning our rooms before we can go out to see a movie.
• “Class, if you get done with the test before the bell rings, you may sit in your seat and read quietly,” Mrs. Miller told her students.

 

get even: to take revenge

• When somebody hurts us, the normal response is to try to get even, but the Bible says not to seek revenge. 
• Jerry wanted to get even after his (former) best friend stole his girlfriend.

 

get going: start or depart

• We have a long trip tomorrow so we should get going around 7:00.
• Sometimes it’s hard to get going on a cold, dark morning!

 

get in: to board or enter a space

• When people get in an elevator, they usually face the door and say nothing.
• Get in the car and we’ll go.

 

get in bed: go to bed

• It’s important for young children to get in bed early. 

 

get moving: to start moving or to take action

• “It’ll be dark in a few hours so we’d better get moving,” Dad said as he saw the sun going down.
• I need to mow the grass today but it’s supposed to rain this afternoon, so I’d better get moving.

 

get on: to board or enter a space

• Get on the bus and have a seat.
• Soon after I get on a train, I usually fall asleep.

 

get organized: to effectively plan your time, goals, and materials

• To be a successful student, you have to get organized.
• Whenever you move to a new place, it takes a long time to get organized and put everything away.

 

get off: to deboard a form of transportation

• Whenever a plane lands, many passengers are in a hurry to get off so they stand in the aisle. 
• We need to remember to get off the train at the Taipei Main Station.

 

get out: to deboard a car or leave another space

• Remember to take your keys with you after you get out of the car. 
• “Get out!” mom yelled when our dog came in the house with muddy feet. 

 

get over something or somebody: to recover from a hurt or illness

• I had a terrible flu last winter; it took me a week to get over it.
• It normally takes me several days to get over jet lag.
• Barry was heartbroken when his girlfriend dumped him. “You’ll get over her,” his mom comforted him. “There’s more than one fish in the sea.”

get ready: to prepare for something

• It takes mom about an hour to get ready every morning.
• If you need to get ready to take your SAT or TOEFL, try our online classes!

 

get sick: fall ill, become unwell

• If you don’t want to get sick, it’s wise to wash your hands often.
• Mom always says we’ll get sick if we go outside on a cold day with wet hair. 

 

get the picture: understand or realize something

• “In this honors class, you’ll need to do about one to two hours’ of homework EACH night to keep up. I hope you get the picture,” Mr. Brill warned.
• In the 1958 movie, “South Pacific,” this woman asked her friends, “Get the picture?”

 

get up: wake up and leave the bed; rise from sitting or lying down

• What time do you usually get up on the weekends?
• After a long break, sometimes it’s hard to get up and get back to work. 

 

get up and go: pep; energy level

• If you’re lacking get up and go, maybe it’s time to start an exercise program. 
• Grandpa used to say, “My ‘get up and go’ got up and went!”

 

get well soon: a wish for someone to recover full health

• After grandma was sick, lots of her friends sent her Get Well Soon cards that lifted her spirits. 

 

get your act together: to get organized and set correct priorities

• Billy is really smart, but he just can’t get his act together. He’s 30, can’t hold a job, and he’s still living in his mother’s basement. 

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Get the picture? There are LOTS of ways we use “get” in English, but I don’t have time to get to all of them.

This very funny “Mom Song” claims to take all the things a mom (or maybe dad) will tell a child in 24 hours, and reduce it to only three minutes. If you listen at 1:53, you will hear about TEN idioms that start with “Get.” Take a listen! 

(For more about Moms and Mother’s Day, check out this blog post.) 

There’s “Get a dose of your own medicine,” “Get cracking,” “Get the lead out,” and lots more! To get a better idea of more English idioms, check out our blog post.  But time is getting away from me and I need to get some other things done now, so I need to get this post wrapped up and get it online. 

 

Do YOU need more help to get better at English? Get in touch with Scott today!