5 phrasal verbs with get and their 33 meanings, or Why students don’t like English
Phrasal verbs are a separate pain for a student who is learning English as a second. Not only does each individual preposition change the meaning of the verb completely, but also there are just a whole bunch of them.
We decided to launch a new section and talk about phrasal verbs in a fun way. In order not to cram them, but to memorize them normally using examples from films and TV series.
And let’s start with the word “get”. In our experience, students make a huge number of mistakes in phrasal verbs with him. So let’s not delay, let’s go!
Get up
One of the most “famous” phrasal verbs. Two of its main meanings are taught at school, and three more remain unknown to students up to the fluent level.
The first is to get up, get to your feet.
Get up when teacher is speaking to you! – Stand up when the teacher is talking to you!
Gandalf pokes Pippin with his staff and says “Get up”.
The second is to get up (after sleep) or wake someone up.
I usually get up at 7 o’clock. – I usually get up at 7 am.
Peter Griffin clearly doesn’t want to wake up.
The third is to dress, make up, dress up.
Mary got herself up in a nice new dress. – Mary dressed up in a cute new dress.
The fourth is to strengthen, to push.
The wind was getting up and our picnic was wasted. “The wind was picking up and our picnic was ruined.
It can also be used as a motivating phrase in sports, analogous to “Push up”…
In the old documentary “Pumping iron” the athlete is told “come on, push”, not “get up.”
Fifth – to experience any feeling
I doubt if I shall ever get up any love. – I doubt that I will ever feel love.
This is the rarest meaning of this phrasal verb. It takes no more than 0.2% of all its uses.
And besides them there is also a cunning form “Get something up”, which means “to arrange, to organize.”
We’re getting up a party, and you’re invited. – We are organizing a party and you are invited…
And like the icing on the cake – a slang phrase “To get it up”… It means “standing” or “standing up” – in that very sense.
She’s so hot. I got it up. – She’s so hot. I got up.
The title of the song can be translated as “Get Up”, but exactly in the sense that you think of. In context, this is perceived very clearly.
Get up to
“Get up to” is a separate phrasal verb that has nothing to do with “get up”. This often confuses students, so the sooner you remember it, the better.
It has only three values - against the background of “get up” there are really few:
The first is to walk, get there, level up.
Can be used both literally and figuratively.
This test is so hard. I got up to sixth question and time’s up. – This test is so difficult. I only got to the sixth question and time is up.
The second is the top phrase in advertising when they are trying to give you a discount.
Get up to 50% off almost everything! – Get up to 50% discount on almost everything!
American marketers are especially fond of her. It is short, simple and has the maximum meaning – perfect for a short advertising offer.
The third is to conceive, soak, get up.
The kids are quiet. They’re getting up to something. – The children have become quiet. They are up to something.
Get in
Interestingly, the formal pronunciation in both British and American English is [getɪn] with an emphasized t sound. But most native speakers say this phrase as [gedɪn] – t turns into d.
So he – to climb, arrive, enter, enter (the university).
In popular culture, it is most often heard as “get in the car” or “get in the house”.
Recognized an excerpt from Interstellar?
But this verb is also not so simple, because it has brothers with additional prepositions and more. We will not dwell on them, just call them:
get something in – insert
Used primarily in a phrase “Get a word in” – “insert word”…
She never listens, impossible to get a word in… – She never listens, impossible insert word…
get in on something – participate
Almost a complete analogue of the word “participate”, but the Americans love it very much.
You can get in on my bet with Scully. – You can participate in our wager with Scully.
get in with somebody – make friends
The same story is a complete synonym for the word “befriend”.
You know, if you want to get in with those kids, they’re always at the skate park after school. – If you want to make friends with those kids, they’re always in the skate park after school.
It is also worth remembering the phrasal verb here “Get into”.
One of its meaning completely coincides with “get to” – to climb. So you can say “get in the car.” But it can also be used figuratively – for example, “get into trouble” – “get into trouble.”
The second meaning of “get into” is to get interested, to dive into something, to start studying. So you can say about any hobby.
Jack got into chess last week. – Last week Jack started playing chess.
Get on
Interestingly, phrasal verbs with different prepositions often duplicate meanings. And the difference between them is so subtle that it is not there.
First, “get on” also means “get in the car.”… And it is used only slightly more often than “get in” in a similar sense. The nuance here is very, very subtle – “get in” sounds potentially rougher than “get on”. That is, if you shout, then “get in” will do better than “get on”, but with a normal tone they are equivalent.
The only significant difference is that “get on” is always used when getting on a motorcycle or ATV.
The second – much more rare meaning of “get on” – to become old… Such a supposedly tolerant way of saying “get old”.
Third – “get on” is said to rush someone… Synonym for the usual “move”, yeah.
But there are plenty of surprises here too. Add an extra preposition or noun somewhere in the middle, as the phrasal verb changes its meaning.
get something on – put on something
Get your coat on! It’s cold. – Put on your coat. Cold!
get on with something – continue to do something, start something
Yes, this phrasal verb can be replaced with another phrasal verb – “go on”, as well as the usual “continue”. The meaning will not change.
Get on with your homework. – Keep doing your homework.
get onto – understand, find out
If a person is just starting to understand something with the phrase “get into”, then with “get onto” he has already learned everything he needs.
She’s got onto her new job. – She figured out her new job responsibilities.
The most interesting thing is that if you write “Get on to”, then the value will change again – get to someone or find someone on the spot.
I can’t get on to him, he’s not at home. – I can’t find him, he’s not at home.
Get out
Almost the only phrasal verb with “get”, which has only one meaning – “get out”, “get out.”
A rude exclamation that is often spoken in a raised voice.
Just like Flanders.
And that’s all. No more surprises. Anyway, with this phrase.
Get off
Now let’s go back to the phrasal verb with a bunch of meanings, among which it’s easy to get lost. Mmm, everything as you like.
The first and most trivial meaning of “get off” is to get out. Mostly from transport. It is less categorical than “get out” and may sound neutral to itself.
We got off the bus and went home. – We got off the bus and went home.
The second – it is permissible, so to speak, in the meaning of “leave”. But the semantic content will completely depend on the context and on the intonation of the speaker, so using it in writing is such an idea. After all, “We must get off at 7 am” can be understood both as “We need to leave at 7 in the morning” and as “We must get out of here at 7 in the morning”.
Third – very often the verb is used in an imperative form with the meaning “leave me alone, get off, get out.” Sometimes the longer phrase “get off of me” is used in speech, but with fast pronunciation one “of” is often lost.
Harry can’t handle Uncle Vernon, so he screams “get off”.
Fourth, in American low slang, “get off” means “get off something.” For example, drugs, cigarettes or alcohol. Interestingly, this meaning has seeped into everyday English and is actively used by medical centers and specialists:
And one more rather rare meaning “Get off” – to be saved, to avoid something.
He was thrown in jail, but the lawyer got him off. “They threw him in jail, but a lawyer pulled him out.
But if you suddenly forget it, you will not lose anything – it is really not used often.
Get back
The most common meaning of this phrasal verb is to return. Moreover, both literally and figuratively.
I need to get back home. I forgot my wallet. – I need to get home. I forgot my wallet.
Jane and Jack got back together. – Jane and Jack got back together.
As an imperative, the phrasal verb sounds like “Back”!
But if you add more prepositions, then the meanings change. Yes, this is the case with almost all phrasal verbs.
Get back at somebody – take revenge, punish.
Jack got back at Bill for brocking his glasses. – Jack took revenge on Bill for breaking his glasses.
Get back to somebody – and no, this is not “going back to someone.” Students have an eternal problem with this verb, because its meanings are not obvious – “Call back” or “contact later”.
I’ll get back to you later. Have something to do. – I’ll call you back later. I have things to do.
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And we have analyzed only 5 phrasal verbs with one single word. In total, there are 19 phrases with get, which have as many as 56 meanings. And these are only fixed in dictionaries. And in total with slang there will be more than 80 of them.
Once again, these are phrasal verbs with only one word “get”. In addition to it, there are several hundred phrasal verbs and even more of their meanings.
Cramming them is absolutely useless. They should only be taught in context and with interesting examples. Do you want it that way? Sign up for a free trial lesson with a tutor at EnglishDom and learn English easily. And even phrasal verbs, yes.
Write in the comments if you are interested in such materials about the nuances of the English language and phrasal verbs in particular? Because we have something interesting to tell.
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