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Vocabulary - Get (1)

I think get is my favourite English word, just three letters give us one of the most versatile words in the English language.

get: verb, past tense got, past participle got, present participle getting.

One learner's dictionary lists 37 uses for get and over 40 two-part verbs with get. In addition there are many idioms that use get. We will start with some of the most common uses of the word.

1. Receive:
What did you get for Christmas? Qu'est-ce que tu as reçu pour Noël?
Did you get the email I sent yesterday? Avez-vous reçu le courriel j'ai envoyé hier?
They get a lot of rain in England, il pleur beaucoup en Angleterre.

2. Buy:
Where did you get those shoes? Où avez-vous acheté ces chaussures?
I prefer to get vegetables at the market, je préfère acheter des légumes au marché.
I'm going to get a new car next week, je vais acheter une nouvelle voiture la semaine prochaine.

3. Obtain:
My parents want to get a divorce, mes parents veulent divorcer.
Have you got a job yet? Avez-vous trouvé un emploi?
John got good exam results, John a eu de bons résultats aux examens.
I'll get something to eat at the station, je mangerai quelque chose à la gare.

4. Bring:
He's gone to get the kids from school, il est allé chercher les gosses de l'école.
Can I get you a drink? Puis-je t'offrir un verre?

5. Catch an illness:
He got hepatitis when he was in India, il a attrapé l'hépatite quand il était en Inde.
I got flu last winter, j'ai attrapé la grippe l'hiver dernier.

6. Prepare:
My wife is getting lunch, ma femme prépare le déjeuner.

7. Take:
I normally get the the 7.30 train, normalement, je prends le train de 07h30.

Two-part Verbs

As we have recently put back the clocks (nous avons retardé nos pendules d'une heure) I thought I would talk about two-part verbs.

Also known as Phrasal Verbs or Verbes à Particule in French, they are a very important part of the English language.
The meaning cannot always be deduced from the verb used.
They are used in informal spoken language but also in newspapers and magazines.
In some cases the two parts are separable but there are no rules for this. You have to learn their usage by heart.
Many two-part verbs have more than one meaning.
Also included with this type of verb are three-part verbs.
There are more than 3000 such verbs in English.

Don't panic ! You don't have to learn all 3000 two-part verbs but you should be aware of them and learn some of the more common ones. The table below shows some of the two-part verbs that use the verb put, which normally means mettre.

Two-part verb	Example usage	Normal verb	French equivalent
put away	Your room is a mess! Please put away your clothes.	(put away)	ranger
put down	We had to have our dog put down last week.	(put down)	faire piquer
put forward	John put forward his new idea at the meeting.	propose	proposer
put in	We're going to have a new kitchen put in.	install	installer
put off	I've put off the meeting until next week.	postpone	remettre
put on	I always put on weight at Christmas.	gain	prendre du poids
put (somebody) out	I hope it it doesn't put you out if we come tomorrow.	disturb	déranger
put together	I've successfully put together the wardrobe from IKEA.	assemble	assembler
put (somebody) up	My friend in London will put you up for the weekend.	accommodate	loger
put up with (3-part)	I can't put up with your bad behaviour any longer.	tolerate	supporter

Two-part Verbs with Get

I hope to get away to somewhere warm for Christmas, j'espere s'échapper à un endroit chaud pour Noël. So today we'll look at some two-part verbs that employ 'get'.

Also known as Phrasal Verbs or Verbes à Particule in French, they are a very important part of the English language.
The meaning cannot always be deduced from the verb used.
They are used in informal spoken language but also in newspapers and magazines.
In some cases the two parts are separable but there are no rules for this. You have to learn their usage by heart.
Many two-part verbs have more than one meaning.
Also included with this type of verb are three-part verbs.
There are more than 3000 such verbs in English.

Don't panic ! You don't have to learn all 3000 two-part verbs but you should be aware of them and learn some of the more common ones. The table below shows some of the two-part verbs that use the verb get, which normally means recevoir, obtenir.

Two-part verb	Example usage	Meaning	French equivalent
get around	It's hard to get around without a car.	travel from a to b	se déplacer
get back	When do you think you will get back?	return	rentrer
get back - telephone	I'll get back to you as soon as I can.	contact again	rappeller
get by	They don't earn very much money but they get by.	manage	se débrouiller
get in	What time does your train get in?	arrive	arriver
get into	Your train gets into Paris at 6 pm.	arrives	arriver
get off	What time do you get off work?	finish	finir
get on with (3-part)	He doesn't get on with his brother.	like	s'entendre
get over	It took her a long time to get over the flu.	recover from	se remettre de
get together	We must get together for a drink soon.	meet	se rencontrer

Pronunciation - 'ough'

A good example of crazy English pronunciation, this letter group can be pronounced in
8 different ways !

Example	I.P.A.	ough rhymes with:
enough, rough, tough	/ʌf/	stuff
cough, trough	/ɒf/	off
drought, plough	/aʊ/	now
dough, though	/əʊ/	so
thought, bought, brought, sought, ought	/ɔː/	or * used before /t/, except with drought /draʊt/
through	/uː/	you
borough, thorough	/ə/	teacher
hiccough	/ʌp/	up * alternative spelling of 'hiccup', which is more common

* use your dictionary for words you don't know.
* I.P.A. = International Phonetic Alphabet.

If we start with the word tough, and form a new word by adding one letter; though, through, and thorough the pronunciation changes each time.

Town names using 'ough'
Slough, near London, is pronounced /slaʊ/ and rhymes with now.
The two 'ough's in the town of Loughborough are each pronounced differently, giving /lʌf·bə·rə/ or Luff·buh·ruh.
Three villages that are all part of the New Town of Milton Keynes, Broughton /brɔːtən/ (Brorton), Loughton /ˈlaʊtən/ (Louton) and/ Woughton /ˈwʌftən/ (Wufften) all have different pronunciations of the ough letter group. They are within 5 kilometres of each other. Welcome to English pronunciation!

There are no rules to help you with this, each word's pronunciation must be learnt by heart. This poem might help you, the last two words in the lines of each verse rhyme.

The baker man was kneading dough
And singing softly, sweet and low

In his work he was very thorough
He'd learnt his craft from his mother

He punched and thumped it through and through
That is what all good bakers do

But from time to time he'd cough
As though his head were coming off!

"My word!" said he,"but this is rough
This flour is really awful stuff!"

"A mistake I made when this flour I bought
I should have got the other sort"

"I'd sooner drive" said he "a plough,
Than be a baker anyhow!"

So said the baker kneading dough
But don't say that I told you so!

* 'augh' looks similar to ough but has only 2 ways of pronunciation:
/ɑːf/ as in 'laughter' (larfter) or /ɔː/ as in 'daughter' (dorter)

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