Interesting Uses Of The Verb ‘Get’

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The verb ‘get’ has widespread uses and lots of meanings. We can use it to express almost everything! It is used as a main verb alone with various interesting meanings. It also can be used with a variety of prepositions to form phrasal verbs with a vast range of meanings.

Main meanings of Get : When ‘get’ is used as a main verb, it means to become, to obtain, to receive, to find, to earn, to take, to catch, to capture, to understand, to communicate with and lots more. Look at the following sentences and conversations :

A :  Get has meanings as to become, to show a change of state. Then the structure is get + adjective. See the sentences below :

I am getting old.
The weather is getting cool.
Day by day you are getting smarter.
You are gradually getting intelligent and beautiful.
We are getting late. Let’s hurry.
During the winter, It gets cooler at night with time going by.
Don’t touch the stove until it gets cool.

Get means to receive, to bring, to arrive, to find. Look at the following dialogue :


A : Mr. Kamal, haven’t u gotten (past participle of get) the courier?
B : Yes. I have it just today morning.
A : It’s good. Then please get it to me soon. (here get means bring)
B : Ok. Do not worry. I will get to you as soon as possible. (get means arrive)
A : Well, I have just heard that u are going to get a salary hike. (here get means receive)
B : Yes, it’s true. I am getting it next month. But where did u get this information? (here get means find)
A : um, One of our colleagues, Kamal told me about that.
B : Really! Then he is the culprit (with laughter)

B : Get means to go, arrive or reach (expresses movement and travel). Look at the dialogue :

A : I need to go to Ashulia today. Could u please tell me how to get there?
B : Why not? It’s easy to get there. First, you need to get to Mirpur 10. (here get means to go or travel). Then from there, get an Itihas bus to Ashulia. Every ten minutes, you will get a bus from the service travelling there. Ok
A : Thank u very much. Well, do u know how much time it takes to get there?
B : Well, It may take at least one and a half hours depending on the traffic. Ok
A : That’s not so much. Thanks again.
B : It’s okay. Have a nice journey.

Some other example :
1. How did u get on the bus in so much crowd? ( get means to enter the bus)
2. A hijacker tried to get in my car but failed due to the speed. (here get also means to enter).

C : Get is also used to indicate possession. To this case, it is in the present perfect form with has or have got. This form can indicate that someone has an object, a friend or relative, or even a situation.


A : How many children have u got, Mr. Karim? B : I’ve got just two children, one son and one daughter. Interestingly, they are twins. And what about u?
B : I have also got the same number. But they both are girls.
Other examples :
1. I has got an appointment at three o’clock tomorrow.
2. Have you got any television in your dining space?
3. My private secretary has got a beautiful smile.

D. We can also use ‘get with the meaning to earn’. Look at the sentence below :


A : What do you do now?
B : I am working for an airline called Emirates. It has got excellent work environment.
A : Definitely! So how much do you earn from the job?
B : Oh! I get about taka one lakh per month. I think that’s quite handsome considering other jobs available in the country. Well, and who do you work for?
A : I am in business with focus on career development programs. it’s running quite well. and the earning is not bad as well.
B : Then how much do you get from the business?
A : I usually get more then one lakh per month. th business is still under development. So hopefully earning will be higher in the future.
B : Wishes and good luck for u.
A : Thank u.

E. Get can mean to understand.


Example : I think you are facing difficulties with the new lesson on uses of preposition. Please be more attentive and try to get the lesson.

F. The verb get has other meanings like to catch or take, to communicate with, to capture or seize, to suffer, catch or affected by. Look at the sentences below :

  1. I usually get 9 P.M train from Kamalapur station to my office in Uttara. (get means to take)
  2. A : How do you get to office usually?
    B : I get public bus to get to the office. or I get train to go to office. (here get means take)
  3. A : How did u get Karim finally?
    B : I got him by phone. (here get means to communicate with)
  4. Finally the police has been able to get the mastermind to Gulshan Cafe attack. (here get means to capture or arrest)
  5. My daughter got a cold last week. (here get means affected by cold)

Idiomatic usages of the verb ‘Get’ : The verb ‘get’ has lots of idiomatic usages also. some of them are below :

Get to it (something) : it means begin doing something. let’s get to work. (let’s start do the work) we are already late.
Gotta : it means urgent or compulsory. I gotta (have to) go now as being already late.


Have got to : it also means have to like gotta. See the below sentence :

We have got to hurry up as the train is due to get at just 5 P.M. So we must get at the airport by 5 anyway. ok.


Get down to business : it means begin working.
Example : We have got to submit the report by this month. There is not enough time left for us. So I think we need to get down to business immediately.
Get together : it means meet.
example : We have not met each other for long. So let’s get together soon in the future.


Get it together : means improve one’s performance. Your performance on the field has been very bad now. So come on please! (used to motivate) I think you need to get it together with hard work.


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