You hear and read phrasal verbs with “get” every day. They appear in conversations, emails, meetings, and classes. These expressions make your English sound natural and efficient. In this guide, you will learn the most useful ones and how to use them correctly.
What is a Phrasal Verb?
A phrasal verb is a main verb plus a particle, such as an adverb or a preposition. The meaning often changes from the base verb alone. Understanding these is a key part of mastering phrasal verbs in general.
- Separable vs Inseparable: For separable verbs, you can place the object between the verb and the particle. If you use a pronoun, it must go in the middle. For example, “get your message across” becomes “get it across.”
- Inseparable: For these, the particle must stay with the verb. For example, “get over it” is correct.
- Transitive vs Intransitive: Transitive verbs need an object (e.g., “get across your point”). Intransitive verbs do not need an object (e.g., “we got off at the next stop”).
- If you find these rules confusing, you can review our guide on separable and inseparable phrasal verbs for more details.
The Essential List of ‘Get’ Phrasal Verbs
A) Communication and Understanding
Clear communication is vital for the art of conversation. Use these verbs to express your ideas clearly.
- Get across (Separable): To communicate successfully. Example: The visuals will help you get your point across.
- Get through to someone (Inseparable): To make someone understand your meaning. Example: I tried a few examples to get through to the team.
- Get back to someone (Inseparable): To reply or respond later. Example: I will get back to you by Friday.
- Get at (Inseparable): To imply something or to criticize. Example: What are you getting at? (imply). Example: He is always getting at me about deadlines (criticize).
B) Relationships and Social Life
Building relationships often requires specific vocabulary. If you want more romance-focused words, see our list of phrasal verbs related to love.
- Get along with (Inseparable): To have a good relationship. Example: Do you get along with your new neighbors?
- Get on with (Inseparable): This has the same meaning as “get along with.” Example: They get on really well.
- Get together (Intransitive): To meet socially. Example: Let’s get together this weekend.
- Get in with (Inseparable): To become accepted by a group. Example: She got in with the design team quickly.
C) Progress and Productivity
Using these verbs is helpful for business phrasal verbs and office productivity.
- Get ahead (Intransitive): To make progress or be successful at work. Example: She worked hard to get ahead in the company.
- Get on with (Inseparable): To continue a task. Example: Let’s get on with the presentation.
- Get around to (Inseparable): To finally do something you planned. Example: I have not got around to finishing the report.
- Get down to (Inseparable): To start something seriously. Example: We need to get down to the main issues.
D) Recovery and Coping
- Get over (Inseparable): To recover from illness or disappointment. Example: It took him weeks to get over the flu.
- Get through (Inseparable): To survive a difficult period. Example: We will get through this quarter together.
- Get out of (Inseparable): To avoid a responsibility. Example: He tried to get out of attending the meeting.
- Get into (Inseparable): To become interested in something. Example: I have got into language podcasts.
E) Movement and Travel
These are common in travel phrasal verbs.
- Get around: To move from place to place. Example: How do you get around Sydney without a car?
- Get in / Get out: To enter or leave a car or taxi. Example: Please get in the car.
- Get on / Get off: To board or leave a bus, train, or plane. Example: Get off at the next stop.
- Get back: To return from a place. Example: What time did you get back last night?
- Get away: To escape or take a short holiday. Example: We are hoping to get away this long weekend.
Mini Exercises
Test what you learned! Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the phrasal verbs above.
- I will ___ ___ ___ you by close of business. (reply)
- It took her months to ___ ___ the injury. (recover)
- Let’s ___ ___ ___ the budget analysis. (start seriously)
- I have not ___ ___ ___ sending the invitations. (finally do)
(Answers: 1. get back to, 2. get over, 3. get down to, 4. got around to)
Practice More
Learning phrasal verbs by root verb is an easy way to study. Now that you know ‘Get,’ why not see how ‘Take’ or ‘Go’ compare?
Ready to test your skills? Try our Phrasal Verbs with Get Quiz. You can also download our Phrasal Verbs Flashcards to study on the go!
Download Worksheet
Download Phrasal Verbs with Get.
