Page 179 - English Vocabulary In Use upper intermediet and advance

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 town;
I got a letter from John today; She got top marks in her exam.
show a change in position -move or be moved, e.g. 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 I hope the enquiry will get at the truth.
get away with do something wrong The robbers got away with several
without being caught thousand pounds.
get behind fail to produce some- I'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 down to begin to give serious It's time you got down to some work.
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 out of avoid a responsibility 1'11 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 to a 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. I 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 goodhad start with JR'S speech. [started welllbadly]
I'm organising a little get-together. I hope you can come. [informal meetinglparty]
When their relationship ended he got rid of everything that reminded him of her. [threw
away, destroyed]
I'm going to get my own back on her somehow. [take my revenge]

174 English Vocabula~ in Use