Hello. And today I'm going to continue again with the third episode about the verb to get and all the different uses and meanings. So here we go.
Now, we're up to meaning 13.
This is when something annoys us, it makes us angry. And we say, it gets me, we say. What gets me is when I'm sitting on the train, and people answer their mobile phones and start talking on the train. And there you are, listening to their conversation. That really gets me - I don't want to hear their conversation. We also say it gets on my nerves, which means the same thing - that it makes me angry. And there's another little idiomatic expression, which means the same thing. It gets my goat, when people talk on their mobile phones, when you're in the train, it gets my goat. You know, the animal goat. That's a funny expression, isn't it? It really gets my goat - it makes me angry.
And this is an interesting one, but it's quite a common one. When we have an action carried out by somebody else. So for example, if your car breaks down, you take it to the garage. And you get it fixed. So it's,
get + the object (the car) + past participle - to get your car fixed.
That means you don't fix the car - you get somebody else to fix it for you. And we can say,
I'm going to get the house painted.
It hasn't been painted for a long time, and it needs a few coats of paint. So I'm going to get the house painted. I'm going to ask the painter or some painters to come in and paint the house for me.
And also, then, when we go to the hairdresser's or the barber's (as they used to say). When we go to the hairdresser's,
We get our hair cut.
Because you don't cut your own hair, usually. So you get your hair cut. I mean, you can say to have your haircut and have your house painted. But get is also another possibility.
Now this is used in some expressions. It's when we start doing something. So it's,
get + the verb + ing.
So for example, I was in the library, and I met this interesting girl. And I got talking to her. I started talking to her. Here's another example.
Hey, come on everybody. We need to get going or we'll be late.
It means we need to start leaving now or start the journey, or we will be late. We need to get going. But be careful, because you can't just substitute get every time you want to say, to start doing something, it's only with certain verbs. For example, I got talking to her, we need to get going.
This one is when we talk about opportunity. When we had or have an opportunity to do something. So for example, I had this job in an electronics shop with all these computers and mobile phones. And it was great because I got to play with all the new video games. So that means that I had the opportunity to play with all the new video games. So that is,
Got + to + infinitive.
I got to play with all the new video games. And I had another job as a waiter in an expensive restaurant, and I got to meet lots of famous people. I had the opportunity to meet lots of famous people.
Now it's interesting that we use get as a verb of motion. Often, when it's difficult to actually move. Have you noticed that we say,
Would you like to get into my car.
Now, you go into your house, you open the door and you walk in. You don't usually get into your house, but you get into a car. Why? Because you have to bend down usually to get in. So you get into a car. Perhaps you're up a ladder, you know, a ladder, which takes you upwards. If you're painting a wall, for example. And you don't like heights. So you find it difficult to get down the ladder. To get down. It means just to step down, to walk down the ladder.
Now, we might say, to get into a house, especially if there's some difficulty. For a burglar, for example, somebody who breaks a window and gets into your house that way. So last year, a burglar got into my house, he broke the window and opened it from the inside and got in and stole a television. So there, it's difficult because he has to break the window. So there we do say to get into the house.
And then also - it's not a really a verb of motion. But in this case, if you have a bottle or a jar, and you want to open it, for example, a jar of marmalade and sometimes when it's new, it's difficult to get the top off - to get the lid off. That's the bit you have to screw round and open so that you can get to the marmalade inside. It's difficult to get the top off.
And this is the last one that I'm going to do for today. And probably in the series of get. I will do some podcasts later on idioms with get because they are very common. You heard one today, didn't you? With that really gets my goat - that makes me angry.
Anyway, this last one here is, interesting, when the phone rings, we say,
Can someone get that phone? Can you get it?
Meaning, can you answer the phone? Can you get the phone we say.
[Knocking sound at the door] Oh, dear! There's somebody at the door, I'd better get the door. I'd better answer it.
Okay, so bye for now and talk to you next time.
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