7 Expressions with Get
These micro-dictation exercises contain 7 different expressions with Get.
'Get' is one of the most common verbs in the English language. As well as having several basic meanings (and being used in grammatical structures like the passive) it is also used in a lots and lots of idioms and fixed expressions.
Learning some of these idioms and expressions is a very good way of improving your understanding of everyday conversation, while also making your own English more varied and natural.
This exercise contains 7 micro-dictations, each one containing a different idiom or expression with Get.
See how much you can understand, try to guess the meaning of the expression, and then check the definition. Good luck!
Listening exercises
#1 to get a shock
Accent: North America
to get a shock = to be surprised by something negative or unpleasant.
e.g. I got a shock when I saw the gas bill - it was 5 times what I had been expecting.
#2 to get the chance
Accent: England (London)
About the sentence
...make sure...
The expression make sure you do something means be certain that you do something. e.g. Make sure you take an umbrella if you walk to work - it's going to rain this afternoon.
The idiom to get the chance to do something is another way of saying to have the opportunity to do something.
e.g. I wanted to ask for his autograph but I didn't get the chance.
e.g. Did you get the chance to ask your boss for next Thursday off?
#3 to get to know someone
Accent: England (RP)
About the sentence
...at first...
We use the phrase at first to mean in the beginning or to begin with. e.g. At first I thought it would be possible to prepare for the exam by myself, but I soon realised that I needed a good teacher to help me.
We use the expression to get to know someone to describe the process of learning more about a person by spending time with them.
e.g. I got to know Paul while we were travelling up to Scotland.
#4 to get rid of something
Accent: Scotland
The expression to get rid of something means to remove something or make it go away.
e.g. Please can we get rid of these curtains? I've never liked them.
e.g. He used to have a big tattoo on his neck; I wonder how he got rid of it?
#5 to get hold of someone
Accent: Northern England
The meaning of the expression to get hold of someone is to make contact and communicate with someone, usually on the phone.
e.g. I can't get hold of John. Maybe he's changed his number?
#6 to get on someone’s nerves
Accent: Ireland
The idiom to get on someone's nerves can be used as an alternative to the verb to annoy someone.
e.g. I don't know why, but his voice really gets on my nerves.
#7 to get up to speed
Accent: Scotland
When you get up to speed, you get all the latest information about something.
e.g. Before you start working with your new team, you'll need to get up to speed with our new IT system.
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Extra practice
Here are some questions/links to help you learn the new vocabulary:
- When was the last time you got a shock?
- Is there anything that you would like to do one day, if you get the chance to do it?
- Is there anything that you wanted to do, but didn't get the chance to do?
- Can you think of someone who you didn't like at first, but who you became friends with after you got to know them?
- Are you good at getting rid of things you don't need, or do you find it hard to throw things away?
- What's the best way to get rid of a headache/cold/sore throat/hangover?
- Can you remember a time when you've needed to get hold of someone but they didn't answer their phone? What happened?
- Are you a difficult or easy person to get hold of?
- What are the top three things that get on your nerves?
- Think about the last time you got a new job. How long did it take to get up to speed with everything?
It`s quite interesting to know Chris, whether an average English speaking person easily understand such challenging to our ear Scottish and Irish accents?
Good question! The sentences in these examples would be easily understood by people from other areas of the UK.
Speaking for myself, I have had problems before with understanding certain regional accents. I remember hearing some people having a conversation in a shop and wondering which country in Scandinavia they might be from, and then realised they were from Newcastle 🙂 I think in these cases it has a lot to do with the vocabulary being used as well as the accent – local slang is really important.
1. The last time I got a shock was very recently and it was when I saw the humanitarian aid for Venezuela being burnt. I couldn’t hardly believe it.
2. If I had got the chance to go to one of Michael Jackson’s concert, I would have gone for sure.
3. I try to make sure to get to know any person I meet with so that I won’t let any prejudice against them blind me because I remember a time when I met a person years ago he seemed to be unfriendly at first but I got to know him and now we get on quite well.
4. I once got rid of some documents that I thought they weren’t important but then I realized that they were, and I talked to myself: “ I wish I hadn’t thrown them away because now I need them.” So now, I always make sure that the papers I try to get rid of are not truly important. But, if I have a headache, I obviously wouldn’t think twice whether I should get rid of it or not, so the best way to get rid of a headache is by taking a pill of ibuprofen.
5. I remember a time when I locked myself in and I didn’t have the key to open the door. I tried several times to get hold of my sister because she used to work near but it was impossible to get hold of her. I can say that my sister is a very difficult person to get hold of, now I make sure I’ve got a spare key everywhere.
6. There are three things that really get on my nerves: it is a dripping tap, to hear someone snoring and have flies around my head, those things really really get on my nerves.
Well done Mari, good examples.
1) Careful with the double negative in this sentence – it should be “I could hardly believe it”. Easy to miss!
4) You need to use ‘say’ (not ‘talk’) in this sentence: “I said to myself…”. ‘Talk’ describes an action, and isn’t used to introduce what someone said.
6) You need to use a noun or gerund in all three of these examples, so the second two should be ‘hearing someone snoring’ and ‘having flies around my head’.
is correct to say: “do not judge anyone until get to know one well”
Hi Milagros!
I understand exactly what you mean, but I would simplify it: “Don’t judge anyone until you get to know them”
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