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‘GET’ 2: Become | Start to be

GET plus an adjective or a comparative adjective denotes a change in state or quality. It can mean become or start to be.
To learn more about GET plus adjective, download my free Study Sheet as a PDF. GET_Adjectives_PDF


Getting better?

The flight attendant and the book lover

George and I got friendly on my first day at High School. Though I was new in class I quickly got popular. George is rather anti-social but it’s never affected our friendship. We’ve been best friends for over twenty years now. We complement each other: Thanks to his patience and his coaching I got better at school, whereas with me he got a bit more outgoing.

After school I trained as a flight attendant, whereas George went on to study computer science. At university he seemed to get more sociable. He started to go running and got fit and healthy. Some girls got interested in him, but he didn’t get serious with any of them.

George got really good at his job. He even spent a year working for a software company in California, and got involved with a girl there. She moved to London with him, but found it hard to get used to the weather here.

When they got engaged, I was sceptical though. I had noticed their relationship had got boring; somehow they had got fed up with each other. And indeed, just a month before the wedding she left him.

The break-up got George severely depressed. He got thinner and thinner and more and more miserable, burying himself in his books most of the time. He even got drunk a few times; that really got me worried.

As his flat had got too big for him alone he asked me if I would move in with him. I gladly did so as housing was getting more and more expensive. That’s how we became flatmates almost ten years ago. As I travel a lot, sharing a flat has never got difficult.

At last George found a good job with a software company in the city centre a couple of years ago. I’m glad to see he’s got more cheerful lately. He has got more active again and seems to be getting more motivated to meet new people. If only there was a nice girl that could make him happy. We’re not getting any younger after all. And when I get married soon I’m afraid he might get lonely again.

In Episode 3 of the series, follow George around on a typical day. Who’s the girl on the bus?


‘GET’ +  adjective = a change: become, start to be

  • We use the verb get with an adjective to talk about changes.
  • These transformations are often related to state, quality or emotions.
  • Get can usually replace become/grow/go/turn.

Examples

  • It gets dark around 5 in winter.
  • They’re getting married next month.
  • Don’t let your soup get cold.
  • I didn’t finish the book because I got bored with it.

‘GET’ + comparative adjective(s) = a gradual or increasing change

  • It’s February. The days have started to get longer again.
  • It got hotter and hotter as the fire was approaching.
  • This series is getting more and more interesting.

‘GET’ + object + adjective = make, cause to be

  • I don’t enjoy gardening: I hate getting my hands dirty.
  • She got everyone tired with her constant complaints.
  • Your comment got me worried.
  • Between the two of us we’ll get the place clean in no time.

Learn more about GET + adjective. Download my free Study Sheet as a PDF: GET_Adjectives_PDF


Get a life! – The series

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