Hey there, and welcome to Speak English with Christina, where you’ll have fun becoming fluent in American English. I’m your English coach Christina, and the other day, I was working with a client, Ghislaine. In the first 3 minutes, expressions like “get to”, “get across”, and “get on with” came into our conversation.
Watch this episode now!
She exclaimed “There are so many phrasal verbs with get + preposition that I don’t know!” We use these expressions all the time, so with Ghislaine we thought you guys would enjoy this episode on phrasal verbs with “get”.

Let’s go! And our first phrasal verb for today is…

To get to / to get into

This verb means “to arrive at a place”, and you can use “arrive”, but in casual conversation it’s a lot more common to say “get to” or “get into.”

For example, you’re going to New York City for your vacation (lucky, lucky you!), and you tell your friends “I get into New York at 3 o’clock.”

We also use “get to” or “get into” in more everyday situations too, like “What time do you usually get into work?” or “What time do you usually get to work?” Me, I usually get to work at around 7:30 or 8. And you?

To get across

Here, we’re talking about the figurative sense of “to get across”, which is “to communicate.” We often use this as part of the chunk “to get your message across”, to communicate your message.

Maybe you feel like it’s hard to get your precise message across in English because you lack vocabulary. Or you want to get your message across quickly, but you have to think to find your words.

Well, now you know one more expression: “to get your message across”, to communicate your message.

To get on with

I was looking for some good examples for the expression “to get on with…”, so what did I do? I googled the expression!

Let’s see if you can guess the meaning of this expression, with some real-life examples: A title of an article in Psychology Today: “How to stop worrying and get on with your life.”

An article from the British newspaper The Guardian: “Ringo Starr wants the British to get on with Brexit.”

And from the site Inc.com “8 ways to run effective meetings so you can get on with your day.” Did you guess? To get on with something means to proceed with, to continue.

To get back

I know you know this song: “Get back, get back! Get back to where you once belonged!” You know, the Beatles song! And the expression “get back” means “to return to a place.”

Earlier, we you learned “get to”, to arrive. Well, if you get into work at 8, maybe you get back home at 6. Or after your vacation in New York City, you want just one thing, to get back to the Big Apple soon.

There are also other definitions of “to get back”, but this one, “to return”, is probably the most common.

Curious to see how well (or badly) I sing the Beatles? Watch the episode!

Now, what about you?

What other expressions with “get” do you know? Share your knowledge with the Speak English Community in the comments below!

Give us one expression, and one example. Use your expression in a sentence!

If everyone contributes one example, you’ll all learn so much!

Let me help you understand 12 everyday expressions that Americans say fast.

Get my free pronunciation and comprehension lesson with exercises.

And of course subscribe to my channel, so you get a new English lesson each week! Thanks for watching Speak English with Christina, and I’ll see you next time!

More English lessons...

Click the image to see the lesson