“To Get”—The One Verb to Rule Them All

Why don’t non-native speakers use “get”? Because it can be replaced with other verbs pretty much 100% of the time, English learners tend to use those other verbs. But if you listen to any native speaker of American English, “get” is sprinkled through our daily conversation like salt on potato chips. For example, let me tell you about my morning: I got up, got dressed, got my coffee, sat down on the couch, and got to work. Yes, you could say, “I woke up, put on my clothes, made coffee, sat down on the couch, and started to work.” But I guarantee you that replacing a couple of those verbs with “got” sounds natural and native. Got it?

Let’s get on with it: “get” for the rest of the day!

Let’s continue with my sample day. I got some work done, and now I’m going to get moving on my errands. I need to get out of the house for a bit to clear my head, anyway. So I think I’ll get in the car and go to the store to get a few things I need. I hope I don’t get stuck in traffic because I have a class in a couple of hours, so I need to get back! Did you get all that? I just used your new favorite verb seven times to simply say I’m about to go to the store and come back home.

Let’s get into relax mode

Today was a good day: I got a lot of work done and didn’t get too stressed out. Now I’m going to get some dinner, get my pajamas on, get into bed, and chill! I need to get an early start tomorrow, so nighty-night! (Six versions of “get” to finish off the day).

“Get” is Important. Got it?

If you know many English verbs, I’m proud of you! I know it’s not easy. Now your job is to start replacing a few of those verbs with “get” so you can make your beautiful English sound even better. Get on board with this English mega-verb and supercharge your speaking!