87 Cc 4 Expressions with get Get seems to be used all the time in spoken English. It has the following basic meanings: * receive, obtain or buy something, e.g. Please get me a newspaper when you're in towns 1 got a letter from John today; She got top marks in her exam. + show a change in position ~ move or be moved, eg. How are you getting home tonight? + show a change in state ~ become or make, e.g. We are all getting older if not wiser. Get also has a number of other more specific meanings. It’s my turn to get dinner tonight. [prepare a meal] I don’t get it. Why did he speak like that? [understand] His behaviour really gets me at times. [annoy] The table below shows just some of the phrasal verbs based on get. phrasal verb meaning example | get at reach, find Thope the enquiry will get at the truth. | get away with do something wrong The robbers got away with several | without being caught thousand pounds. getbehind fail to produce some- ve got terribly behind with my work. | | thing at the right time | get by manage (financially) We could never get by on my salary alone. | | get down depress This weather is really getting me down. | | get downto begin to give serious __It’s time you got down to some work. i | attention to | get on manage However will we get on without you? | | get on advance, develop Jo is getting on very well at school now. | | get our of avoid a responsil Pil try and get out of my lesson tomorrow. | | get over recover from She’s getting over a bad attack of flu. | get round spread The rumour soon got round the whole village. | | get through come toa successful What a relief that she got through all her | | end exams! \ | get through use up all of He got through his month’s salary in just | | one weekend. | | get up to to do (especially They're very quiet. [wonder what they're | | something bad) getting up to? | Here are some other expressions based on get. You seem to have got out of bed on the wrong side today. [be in a bad mood] The meeting got off to a good/bad start with JR’s speech. [started well/badly} Tm organising a little get-together. I hope you can come. [informal meeting/party) ‘When their relationship ended he got rid of everything that reminded him of her. [threw away, destroyed] Pm going to get my own back on her somehow. [take my revenge] English Vocabulary in Use87.2 87.3 87.4 87.5 Exercises There are a lot of instances of get in this text. Replace them all with another way of conveying the same idea, Notice that by doing this you are changing the text from something very informal to something slightly more formal. I don’t often get interesting advertising circulars these days. However, quite an unusual one came this morning. It was headed ‘Are you worried about getting out of touch?” And it went on, ‘If so, get some of our special tablets today. Taking just one in the morning will help you get on well at work and at home. It will stop little problems from getting you down and will ensure that you get rich and successful with the minimum of effort on your behalf. Send just $25 today and you will get your tablets and your key to success within ten days.” Fill in the blanks in the sentences below in the most appropriate way. 1 Although they had only told their parents about their engagement, the news soon got the village. 2. She must have made a good impression last week because she has got to the second round of interviews for the post. 3 Ilove watching TV cookery programmes but when they describe a recipe, it can be hard to get all the details in time. 4 We get only because we live very economically. 5 What have you been getting since we last met? 6 Surely you haven't got all the biscuits already? Match the situations in list A with the appropriate expressions in list B. A.1 Someone has been very impolite to one of your friends. 4 Someone is about to throw something away. Someone is being very bad-tempered. 4 Someone has done something very unkind to you. 2 A good friend is leaving, I don’t know how we'll get by without you! You wait! I'll get my own back on you one day! Don't get rid of that yet! You got out of bed on the wrong side this morning! Your rudeness really gets me! 3 Whur Veen Complete the following sentences in any appropriate way. I should hate to get rid of. The dinner got off to a bad start when... I find it very hard to get down to.. I wish I could get out of... I don’t think she has got over... is really getting me down, Aueene There are a number of other common phrasal verbs and expressions based on get not listed on the opposite page. Write example sentences using any that you can think of. English Vocabulary in Use 175