Phrasal Verbs with Get

A phrasal verb is a combination of two or more words, usually a verb and preposition, which acts as one word.

The meaning of the phrasal verb is different to the meaning of the words when separated. For example, to "get away" means to go on holiday, which is different from the meaning of the word "get"on its own.

 Phrasal verbs are common in both spoken and written English, so we should practise them as often as possible.

This lesson focuses on phrasal verbs using the verb get.  

Here is a list of phrasal verbs with their meanings.

Get Phrasal Verbs

get up to – do

get on with (someone) – have a good relationship

get over (something/someone)  –  recover from

get away with (something)  – be successful in something

get at (someone) – criticise someone repeatedly

get rid of (something)  –  remove/throw away something

get out of (doing something) – avoid something you don’t want to do

get off lightly – to experience less trouble than expected

get through to (someone) – successfully explain something

get wound up (about something) –  get angry about something

Lesson by Nasreen, teacher at EC Cape Town

Choose the correct 'get' phrasal verbs to complete the sentences:

• 1 - Our sofa is really old. We need to ___ it.
  
  get rid of
  getting at
  
  
• 2 - I went to the cinema. What did you ___ last weekend?
  
  get up to
  get away with
  
  
• 3 - Brad and Tom really don't ___ each other. They’re always arguing.
  
  get on with
  get wound up
  
  
• 4 - Sara won’t be joining us. She's still ___ the flu.
  
  getting over
  get through to
  
  
• 5 - I ___ going on that boring camping trip, because it started raining.
  
  get out of
  got off lightly
  
  
• 6 - The traffic officer only gave me a warning for driving too fast. I ___ there!
  
  get rid of
  got off lightly
  
  
• 7 - After showing James the pie charts and diagrams, I was finally able to ___ him.
  
  get through to
  get up to
  
  
• 8 - I really ___ when I see people mistreating defenceless animals!
  
  get wound up
  get on with
  
  
• 9 - If Mel thinks she's going to ___ being late again, she's terribly mistaken!
  
  getting over
  get away with
  
  
• 10 - I feel sorry for Andrew. His brother's always ___ him even when he’s done nothing wrong.
  
  get out of
  getting at