Beginning my day

I often get up at 5:30 or 6:00AM. After some time, I get my dog fed, and then I get ready for work. After I have gotten ready for work, I have to get working. Sometimes I get to teach a student, and sometimes I get cracking on something for the website.

“Get,” A Strange Little Verb

If you are learning English, you know that speakers very often use a strange, difficult little verb: “get.” Many people who learn English try not to use “get” because it is too difficult to use correctly. One reason this little verb is difficult to learn is that it has many meanings. “Get” is used as a main verb, but it has several different meanings. “Get” is used in many phrasal verbs in English. And “get” is used in the passive voice. You can think about “get” as the little verb that does everything. Or almost everything.

Easy Examples

Here is my explanation of the uses of get in the story from the beginning of this post.

First, we have examples of how to use “get” as part of a phrasal verb. If you want to know more about phrasal verbs, read my post about how 1 little word can make a difference in meaning. “Get up” is a phrasal verb that has more than 1 meaning. In this case, it means to stop sleeping and start my day. The other phrasal verb, “get to,” also has several meanings, and 1 is to do something we enjoy. So you can see that I enjoy meeting with students and teaching them.

I often get up at 5:30 or 6:00AM.

sometimes I get to teach a student….

the second use of “get” in my story is an example of using “get” as a causative verb. A causative verb is a verb about causing something to happen. In this case, my action is causing my dog to change from being hungry to being fed. But he is a dog, so he probably is still hungry after eating.

After some time, I get my dog fed…

Next, there are 2  examples of using get as a main verb with an adjective. It is used to mean changing from one kind or description to another. In this case, I change from not being ready for work to being ready for work.

I get ready for work.

After I have gotten ready for work…

Finally, there are 2 examples of using “get” as a main verb with a gerund. It means to begin an activity. In my story, I talk about starting work, and I use some slang that means I am starting on a project or task.

I get working.

…sometimes I get cracking on something for the website.

But Wait, There’s More

I have only given you a few examples of how we use “get” in English. There are other ways that we use this strange little verb, but if I write about all of them, you will get tired of reading this post.

Your Turn

So now it is your turn. What examples can you find of using “get>” What different meanings can you find? Leave a comment below with your answers. And watch the video for more examples.