Getis an irregular verb. Its three parts areget, got, got. In American English, the -edformgottenis common.
Getis a very common verb, especially in informal speaking and writing.Gethas many different meanings and is used in many idioms. We use it less often in formal writing.Gethas many different grammatical patterns depending on the meaning.
Getmeaning ‘fetch’, ‘receive’, ‘obtain’
We commonly useget+ object orget+ indirect object + direct object when we mean, very generally, ‘fetch’ or ‘receive’ or ‘obtain’. In these examples the object is underlined:
When are you going togetyour new car?
They were all dismissed from the firm but two of them managed togetnew jobswithin a week.
These examples have an indirect object (io) and a direct object (do):
Can youget[IO]me[DO]an ice-cream? Thanks.
Can we stop here? I need toget[IO]Fiona and Steven[DO]some cash from the cash machine.
Getmeaning ‘become’
We commonly useget+ adjective to mean ‘become’ or to describe a change of state or situation:
Put your coat and scarf on or you’llgetcold.
Let’s hope shegetsbetter soon.
It’sgettingdark.
Getdescribing negative events
We can useget+-edform to describe things that happen to us, often things which are unfortunate and which we don’t want to happen. We call this pattern theget passive:
The cottagegotreally badly damaged in the floods last year.
Sorry we’re late. The traingotdelayed for over an hour outside Manchester.
Getmeaning ‘cause something to happen’
When we useget+ object (o) +-edform, we say that we cause something to happen or to be done. It is a less formal way of sayinghave something done:
I’mgettingthe computerrepairedon Monday.
I’m going to the supermarket so I’llgetyour jacketcleanedif you like.
We also useget+ noun phrase object (o) + object complement (oc) to mean that we cause something to happen:
[at a hotel reception desk]
Sorry to keep you waiting. We’re justgetting[O]the bill[OC]readyfor you now.
Get+ object + infinitive withto, andget+ object + -ingform have similar meanings of ‘cause or persuade to happen’:
Theygotmeto talkto the police, even though I knew it wouldn’t help.(They persuaded me to talk to the police …)
Can you help megetthis printer working?
Getis a word with many different meanings. You will find other meanings ofget, and phrasal verbs withget, in a good learner’s dictionary.
See also:
Getpassive
Getorgo?
Have gotandhave
Have something done