I. CHANGING, CAUSING, MOVING, OR REACHING
(~s, ~ting, got, or gotten)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Note: In most of its uses '~' is a fairly informal word. 'Gotten' is an American form of the past tense and past participle.
1.
You use ~ with adjectives to mean ‘become’. For example, if someone ~s cold, they become cold, and if they ~ angry, they become angry.
The boys were ~ting bored...
There’s no point in ~ting upset...
From here on, it can only ~ better.
V-LINK: V adj, V adj, V adj
2.
Get is used with expressions referring to states or situations. For example, to ~ into trouble means to start being in trouble.
Half the pleasure of an evening out is ~ting ready...
Perhaps I shouldn’t say that–I might ~ into trouble...
How did we ~ into this recession, and what can we do to ~ out of it?
V-LINK: V adj, V prep/adv, V prep/adv
3.
To ~ someone or something into a particular state or situation means to cause them to be in it.
I don’t know if I can ~ it clean...
What got me interested was looking at an old New York Times...
Brian will ~ them out of trouble.
VERB: V n adj, V n adj, V n prep
4.
If you ~ someone to do something, you cause them to do it by asking, persuading, or telling them to do it.
...a long campaign to ~ US politicians to take the Aids epidemic more seriously...
How did you ~ him to pose for this picture?
= persuade
VERB: V n to-inf, V n to-inf
5.
If you ~ something done, you cause it to be done.
I might benefit from ~ting my teeth fixed...
It was best to ~ things done quickly.
VERB: V n -ed, V n -ed
6.
To ~ somewhere means to move there.
I got off the bed and opened the door...
I heard David yelling and telling them to ~ back.
VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv
7.
When you ~ to a place, you arrive there.
Generally I ~ to work at 9.30am...
It was dark by the time she got home.
VERB: V to n, V adv
8.
To ~ something or someone into a place or position means to cause them to move there.
Mack got his wallet out...
The UN was supposed to be ~ting aid to where it was most needed.
VERB: V n with adv, V n prep
9.
Get is often used in place of ‘be’ as an auxiliary verb to form passives.
Does she ever ~ asked for her autograph?...
A pane of glass got broken.
AUX: AUX -ed, AUX -ed
10.
If you ~ to do something, you eventually or gradually reach a stage at which you do it.
No one could figure out how he got to be so wealthy.
VERB: V to-inf
11.
If you ~ to do something, you manage to do it or have the opportunity to do it.
Do you ~ to see him often?...
They ~ to stay in nice hotels.
VERB: V to-inf, V to-inf
12.
You can use ~ in expressions like ~ moving, ~ going, and ~ working when you want to tell people to begin moving, going, or working quickly.
I aim to be off the lake before dawn, so let’s ~ moving...
VERB: V -ing
13.
If you ~ to a particular stage in your life or in something you are doing, you reach that stage.
We haven’t got to the stage of a full-scale military conflict...
If she ~s that far, Jane may ~ legal aid to take her case to court...
It got to the point where I was so ill I was waiting to die.
VERB: V to n, V adv, it V to n
14.
You can use ~ to talk about the progress that you are making. For example, if you say that you are ~ting somewhere, you mean that you are making progress, and if you say that something won’t ~ you anywhere, you mean it will not help you to progress at all.
Radical factions say the talks are ~ting nowhere and they want to withdraw...
My perseverance was ~ting me somewhere.
VERB: V adv, V n adv
15.
When it ~s to a particular time, it is that time. If it is ~ting towards a particular time, it is approaching that time.
It got to after 1am and I was exhausted...
It was ~ting towards evening when we got back...
It’s ~ting late.
V-LINK: it V to n, it V towards n, it V adj
16.
If something that has continued for some time ~s to you, it starts causing you to suffer.
That’s the first time I lost my cool in 20 years in this job. This whole thing’s ~ting to me.
VERB: V to n
17.
If something ~s you, it annoys you. (INFORMAL)
What ~s me is the attitude of so many of the people.
VERB: no passive, V n
II. OBTAINING, RECEIVING, OR CATCHING
(~s, ~ting, got, or gotten)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ something that you want or need, you obtain it.
I got a job at the sawmill...
He had been having trouble ~ting a hotel room...
I asked him to ~ me some information.
VERB: V n, V n, V n n, also V n for n
2.
If you ~ something, you receive it or are given it.
I’m ~ting a bike for my birthday...
He ~s a lot of letters from women...
VERB: V n, V n
3.
If you ~ someone or something, you go and bring them to a particular place.
I came down this morning to ~ the newspaper...
Go and ~ me a large brandy...
Go and ~ your daddy for me.
VERB: V n, V n n, V n for n
4.
If you ~ a meal, you prepare it.
She was ~ting breakfast as usual.
VERB: V n
5.
If you ~ a particular result, you obtain it from some action that you take, or from a calculation or experiment.
You could run that race again and ~ a different result each time...
What do you ~ if you multiply six by nine?
VERB: V n, V n
6.
If you ~ a particular price for something that you sell, you obtain that amount of money by selling it.
He can’t ~ a good price for his crops.
VERB: V n for n
7.
If you ~ the time or opportunity to do something, you have the time or opportunity to do it.
You ~ time to think in prison...
Whenever I ~ the chance I go to Maxim’s for dinner.
VERB: V n, V n
8.
If you ~ an idea, impression, or feeling, you begin to have that idea, impression, or feeling as you learn or understand more about something.
I ~ the feeling that you’re an honest man...
The study is an attempt to ~ a better idea of why people live where they do...
VERB: V n, V n
9.
If you ~ a feeling or benefit from an activity or experience, the activity or experience gives you that feeling or benefit.
Charles got a shock when he saw him...
She ~s enormous pleasure out of working freelance...
VERB: V n, V n out of/from n/-ing
10.
If you ~ a look, view, or glimpse of something, you manage to see it.
Young men climbed on buses and fences to ~ a better view...
Crowds shouted and pushed to ~ a glimpse of their hero.
= obtain
VERB: V n, V n
11.
If a place ~s a particular type of weather, it has that type of weather.
Riyadh got 25 mm of rain in just 12 hours...
Northern Kentucky is likely to ~ snow mixed with sleet.
VERB: V n, V n
12.
If you ~ a joke or ~ the point of something that is said, you understand it.
Did you ~ that joke, Ann? I’ll explain later...
You don’t seem to ~ the point.
VERB: V n, V n
13.
If you ~ an illness or disease, you become ill with it.
When I was five I got measles.
VERB: V n
14.
When you ~ a train, bus, plane, or boat, you leave a place on a particular train, bus, plane, or boat.
What time are you ~ting your train?
VERB: V n
15.
If you ~ a person or animal, you succeed in catching, killing, or hitting them.
Take it easy. We’ve got him. He’s not going to kill anyone else.
VERB: V n
16.
see also ~ting , got
III. PHRASES AND PHRASAL VERBS
(~s, ~ting, got, or gotten)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You can say that something is, for example, as good as you can ~ to mean that it is as good as it is possible for that thing to be.
Consort has a population of 714 and is about as rural and isolated as you can ~.
PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v
2.
If you say you can’t ~ away from something or there is no ~ting away from something, you are emphasizing that it is true, even though people might prefer it not to be true. (INFORMAL)
There is no ~ting away from the fact that he is on the left of the party.
PHRASE: PHR n emphasis
3.
If you ~ away from it all, you have a holiday in a place that is very different from where you normally live and work.
...the ravishing island of Ischia, where rich Italians ~ away from it all.
PHRASE: V inflects
4.
Get is used in rude expressions like ~ stuffed and ~ lost to express contempt, disagreement, or refusal to do something. (RUDE)
CONVENTION feelings
5.
You can say, for example, ‘How lucky can you ~?’ or ‘How stupid can you ~?’ to show your surprise that anyone could be as lucky or stupid as the person that you are talking about. (INFORMAL)
I mean, how crazy can you ~?
PHRASE feelings
6.
You can use you ~ instead of ‘there is’ or ‘there are’ to say that something exists, happens, or can be experienced. (SPOKEN)
You ~ a lot of things like that now don’t you...
That’s where you ~ some differences of opinion.
PHRASE: PHR n