As you probably know, get is such a common word for native English speakers. We use it all the time! And it has SO many meanings.
I’m going to share with you 4 of the most common uses of get in English so that you can start using it straight away and make your speaking sound more natural.
1. Get + noun = receive
We often use get to mean receive. Let me give you some examples:
- I got 700 emails while I was away on holiday!
- I got a text message from Tom yesterday
- I got a postcard from the Smith family this morning. They’re in Africa!
2. Get to + place = arrive
You can also use get to talk about arriving at a place. Be aware though, you need to add the preposition ‘to’:
- What time did you get to work this morning?
- We got to the airport just before our plane left!
- We didn’t get to the hotel until midnight!
But, be careful, we DON’T use ‘to’ if the place is ‘home’
- I usually get home about 6pm
3. Get + noun = buy
You can replace ‘buy’ with ‘get’ in English to sound much more natural! Here are some common examples for you:
- Can you get me a magazine while you’re at the supermarket?
- Oh, I forgot to get toothpaste at the shop
- Shall we get some wine to have with dinner?
4. Get + adjective = become
As this one often describes a process, it’s often (not always) used with present continuous:
- Let’s go home, it’s getting dark
- Shall we go inside, it’s getting cold out here
- I’m getting tired. I think I’ll go to bed
So there you go – 4 common uses of get in English!
If you want to review that or just hear a native English speaker (me!) talking about these 4 uses, then check out my video below:
Practise using GET in English….
Now I want to hear from you! Leave me a comment below with YOUR OWN EXAMPLE of get using one of these 4 structures.
16 Responses
Thanks Nicki. This made it very simple to understand. Here is my example
I got some eggs this morning so we can make pancakes.
I’m getting hungry. Shall we make them now?
Yes George! That’s a great example, well two actually! Lovely 😊
I’m glad this blog post simplified those rules for you!
Hello Nicki
Here are 2 sentences with GET
Already noon ! I ‘m getting hungry ! please, can you get me a sandwich at the supermarket?
Yesterday, we got again some recommendations from the governement to stay home before getting to work later….
I am less confident with the second sentence. Do you agree with it ? Thank you ?
Thanks for sharing your examples Francoise!
The first one is perfect, 2 lovely get phrases (getting hungry and get me a sandwich) It sounds so natural!
You’re right about the second one, it doesn’t quite work. But you can definitely say ‘we got some more guidelines/recommendations from the government to stay home.’
Great work!
hello Nicki,
I got to the supermarket drive last friday. It’s easier to respect the social distancing measures. However I prefer nearby stores.
I get home at eleven o’clock, after one hour walk.
I expect I will getting a good english speaker.
thank you for the corrections !
Well done for having a go at this challenge Anne! Got to the supermarket is good, but do you mean you drove there? You could say ‘by car’.
In your last example, I think you mean become. That one is used with an adjective (also we don’t use ing after will) so you could change it to ‘I expect I’ll get good at English if I keep practising’. Something like that would be a lovely use!
Hope that helps 😊
thank you Nicki,
It’s really great to correct my mistakes
You’re very welcome. We can’t learn without mistakes 😉
I have got a really great time, entertained and enjoyed with your class I’ll get in touch with you because I am going to get some rolls! 😀
Haha! Thanks for sharing your examples Rafael!
The first one doesn’t quite work (just had a really great time) but get in touch with someone is a great phrase – that will be in the next GET video – and going to get some rolls are great examples 😊
I’m so pleased you enjoyed the video!
Hi Nicki
I get a lot of nonsense messages every day
Can you tell me how to get to the nearest bank from here, please?
Can you get me some dark chocolate on your way back home?
I think you will get more beautiful if you smile
thank you
These are great examples Fouad! ‘Can you tell me how to get to the nearest bank from here, please?’ is a perfect English phrase – well done. And I use your chocolate example with my husband all the time, haha!
The last one doesn’t sound quite right. You could say ‘my daughter gets more beautiful every day!’ or something like that though.
Great work!
hi Nicki thank you very much for this very interesting lesson ! i struggle with using ‘Get’ for ages !!
here are some sentences :
I got a poscard from my son this morning.There are a lot of photographs of my little granddaughter. They show me her daily lockdown activities !
I got early to the bakery this morning in order to be sure i’ll have some bread .
I’m going to the market tomorrow morning to get some fruit and vegetables.
I’m bored ! this lockdown is guetting never-ending !
Such nice examples Martine. You must have been really happy to get that postcard!
Don’t separate your time phrase – It should be ‘I got to the bakery early this morning’.
Also, I love the word never-ending but it doesn’t collocate with get. This lockdown is getting boring/monotonous/dull works great though!
Thanks for sharing these topical examples! 😊
Hi Nicki!
This is very important and interesting lesson. I’ve heard different uses of “get”
But here I see a good classification even in colour with many examples from daily life.
It immediately stuck in my head.
Here are my sentences:
1. I get many calls every day instead of the normal meetings.
2. When I got to the flower shop it was closed.
3. Shall I get some fish for dinner?
4. I’m getting nervous because of lockdown
These are brilliant examples Kalinka!! And perfect for the current situation so the contexts are great too.
I’m so pleased you found this lesson useful and it helped the different structures to stick in your head! 😊