Is the word got a verb

The word ‘get’ is one of the most common and versatile verbs in English. It can be used in lots of different ways, and is usually seen in informal writing or speaking. You can use the word ‘get’ on its own, with a preposition to make a phrasal verb, or with a participle in the passive voice.

Now we’re going to look at some of these uses in more detail. So, let’s get started!

1. Get = to obtain, to receive, to buy

The word ‘get’ can be used as a verb to express the actions of obtaining, receiving or buying. To form a sentence, we use get + direct object or get + indirect object + object.

Let’s take a look at some examples. Don’t forget ‘get’ is an irregular verb, so when we use the past simple we change (or conjugate) to ‘got’

To obtain

 

To receive

 

To buy

 

2. Get = to reach, to arrive

We can use ‘get’ when talking about arriving or reaching a place, to express movement or travel. To form a sentence, we use get + place expression. After the word ‘get’, we also normally use the preposition ‘to’.

To reach

 

To arrive

 

3. Get = to become

‘Get’ is also used to express a change of state or situation. To form a sentence, we use get + adjective.

To become

 

4. Get as a phrasal verb

‘Get’ can be used in phrasal verbs, which have various meanings. To form a sentence, use get + preposition/adverb. Here are a handful of common examples:

 

5. Get in the passive

We can also use the word ‘get’ in the passive form. Here it is used in place of the verb ‘to be’ to sound more informal. So, instead of using the standard passive be + participle, we can also use get + participle. For example:

 

We use the passive form when we want to emphasize the nature of the event, or the people involved instead of who does the action. For example:

 

‘Get’ is also very commonly used to describe negative events. For example:

 

6. Get something done

Our final use of the word get is a more informal way of saying ‘to have something done’ for us or to us. This is normally when we pay for some kind of service – such as at the hairdresser, mechanic or dentist. To form a sentence, we use the structure get + object + past participle.

To get something done

 

Enjoy this post? Check out our blog post: 10 phrasal verbs to help you become an English expert.

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Versatile (adj): able to be used for lots of different purposes.

Get started (exp): to begin.

Hairdresser (n): the place where you go for a haircut.

Key

adj = adjective

exp = adverb

n = noun

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В английском языке глаголы делятся на правильные и неправильные. Неправильные глаголы — это такие глаголы, у которых форма прошедшего времени ( Past tense form ), а также форма причастия прошедшего времени ( Past participle ) образуется не так, как у правильных глаголов. Правильные глаголы образуют эти формы путём прибавления –ed к первой форме. Подробнее про глаголы.

Нет общего правила для неправильных глаголов. Их нужно просто выучить.

Base form	Past simple	Past participle	Перевод
A
arise	arose	arisen	возникать, появляться
awake	awakened / awoke	awakened / awoken	будить, проснуться
B
backslide	backslid	backslidden / backslid	отказываться от прежних убеждений
be	was, were	been	быть
bear	bore	born / borne	родить
beat	beat	beaten / beat	бить
become	became	become	становиться, делаться
begin	began	begun	начинать
bend	bent	bent	сгибать, гнуть
bet	bet / betted	bet / betted	держать пари
bind	bound	bound	связать
bite	bit	bitten	кусать
bleed	bled	bled	кровоточить
blow	blew	blown	дуть
break	broke	broken	ломать
breed	bred	bred	выращивать
bring	brought	brought	приносить
broadcast	broadcast / broadcasted	broadcast / broadcasted	распространять, разбрасывать
browbeat	browbeat	browbeaten / browbeat	запугивать
build	built	built	строить
burn	burned / burnt	burned / burnt	гореть, жечь
burst	burst	burst	взрываться, прорываться
bust	busted / bust	busted / bust	разжаловать
buy	bought	bought	покупать
C
can	could	could	мочь, уметь
cast	cast	cast	бросить, кинуть, вышвырнуть
catch	caught	caught	ловить, хватать, успеть
choose	chose	chosen	выбирать
cling	clung	clung	цепляться, льнуть
clothe	clothed / clad	clothed / clad	одевать (кого-либо)
come	came	come	приходить
cost	cost	cost	стоить, обходиться (в какую-либо сумму)
creep	crept	crept	ползать
cut	cut	cut	резать, разрезать
D
deal	dealt	dealt	иметь дело
dig	dug	dug	копать
dive	dove / dived	dived	нырять, погружаться
do	did	done	делать, выполнять
draw	drew	drawn	рисовать, чертить
dream	dreamed / dreamt	dreamed / dreamt	грезить, мечтать
drink	drank	drunk	пить
drive	drove	driven	управлять (авто)
dwell	dwelt / dwelled	dwelt / dwelled	обитать, находиться
E
eat	ate	eaten	есть, кушать
F
fall	fell	fallen	падать
feed	fed	fed	кормить
feel	felt	felt	чувствовать
fight	fought	fought	драться, сражаться, бороться
find	found	found	находить
fit	fit	fit	подходить по размеру
flee	fled	fled	убегать, спасаться
fling	flung	flung	бросаться, ринуться
fly	flew	flown	летать
forbid	forbade	forbidden	запрещать
forecast	forecast	forecast	предсказывать, предвосхищать
foresee	foresaw	foreseen	предвидеть
foretell	foretold	foretold	предсказывать, прогнозировать
forget	forgot	forgotten	забывать
forgive	forgave	forgiven	прощать
forsake	forsook	forsaken	покидать
freeze	froze	frozen	замерзать
G
get	got	gotten / got	получать, достигать
give	gave	given	давать
go	went	gone	идти, ехать
grind	ground	ground	молоть, толочь
grow	grew	grown	расти
H
hang	hung / hanged	hung / hanged	вешать, развешивать
have, has	had	had	иметь
hear	heard	heard	слышать
hew	hewed	hewn / hewed	рубить
hide	hid	hidden	прятаться, скрываться
hit	hit	hit	ударять, поражать
hold	held	held	держать, удерживать, фиксировать
hurt	hurt	hurt	ранить, причинить боль
I
inlay	inlaid	inlaid	вкладывать, вставлять, выстилать
input	input / inputted	input / inputted	входить
interweave	interwove	interwoven	воткать
K
keep	kept	kept	держать, хранить
kneel	knelt / kneeled	knelt / kneeled	становиться на колени
knit	knitted / knit	knitted / knit	вязать
know	knew	known	знать, иметь представление (о чем-либо)
L
lay	laid	laid	класть, положить
lead	led	led	вести, руководить, управлять
lean	leaned / leant	leaned / leant	опираться, прислоняться
leap	leaped / leapt	leaped / leapt	прыгать, скакать
learn	learnt / learned	learnt / learned	учить
leave	left	left	покидать, оставлять
lend	lent	lent	одалживать, давать взаймы
let	let	let	позволять, предполагать
lie	lay	lain	лежать
light	lit / lighted	lit / lighted	освещать
lose	lost	lost	терять
M
make	made	made	делать, производить, создавать
may	might	might	мочь, иметь возможность
mean	meant	meant	значить, иметь ввиду
meet	met	met	встречать
miscast	miscast	miscast	неправильно распределять роли
misdeal	misdealt	misdealt	поступать неправильно
misdo	misdid	misdone	делать что-либо неправильно или небрежно
misgive	misgave	misgiven	внушать недоверия, опасения
mishear	misheard	misheard	ослышаться
mishit	mishit	mishit	промахнуться
mislay	mislaid	mislaid	класть не на место
mislead	misled	misled	ввести в заблуждение
misread	misread	misread	неправильно истолковывать
misspell	misspelled / misspelt	misspelled / misspelt	писать с ошибками
misspend	misspent	misspent	неразумно, зря тратить
mistake	mistook	mistaken	ошибаться
misunderstand	misunderstood	misunderstood	неправильно понимать
mow	mowed	mowed / mown	косить
O
offset	offset	offset	возмещать, вознаграждать, компенсировать
outbid	outbid	outbid	перебивать цену
outdo	outdid	outdone	превосходить
outfight	outfought	outfought	побеждать в бою
outgrow	outgrew	outgrown	вырастать из
output	output / outputted	output / outputted	выходить
outrun	outran	outrun	перегонять, опережать
outsell	outsold	outsold	продавать лучше или дороже
outshine	outshone	outshone	затмевать
overbid	overbid	overbid	повелевать
overcome	overcame	overcome	компенсировать
overdo	overdid	overdone	пережари(ва)ть
overdraw	overdrew	overdrawn	превышать
overeat	overate	overeaten	объедаться
overfly	overflew	overflown	перелетать
overhang	overhung	overhung	нависать
overhear	overheard	overheard	подслуш(ив)ать
overlay	overlaid	overlaid	покры(ва)ть
overpay	overpaid	overpaid	переплачивать
override	overrode	overridden	отменять, аннулировать
overrun	overran	overrun	переливаться через край
oversee	oversaw	overseen	надзирать за
overshoot	overshot	overshot	расстрелять
oversleep	overslept	overslept	проспать, заспаться
overtake	overtook	overtaken	догонять
overthrow	overthrew	overthrown	свергать
P
partake	partook	partaken	принимать участие
pay	paid	paid	платить
plead	pleaded / pled	pleaded / pled	обращаться к суду
prepay	prepaid	prepaid	платить вперед
prove	proved	proven / proved	доказывать
put	put	put	класть, ставить, размещать
Q
quit	quit / quitted	quit / quitted	выходить, покидать, оставлять
R
read	read	read	читать
rebind	rebound	rebound	перевязывать
rebuild	rebuilt	rebuilt	перестроить
recast	recast	recast	изменять, перестраивать
redo	redid	redone	делать вновь, переделывать
rehear	reheard	reheard	слушать вторично
remake	remade	remade	переделывать
rend	rent	rent	раздирать
repay	repaid	repaid	отдавать долг
rerun	reran	rerun	выполнять повторно
resell	resold	resold	перепродавать
reset	reset	reset	возвращать
resit	resat	resat	пересиживать
retake	retook	retaken	забирать
retell	retold	retold	пересказывать
rewrite	rewrote	rewritten	перезаписать
rid	rid	rid	избавлять
ride	rode	ridden	ездить верхом
ring	rang	rung	звонить
rise	rose	risen	подняться
run	ran	run	бегать
S
saw	sawed	sawed / sawn	пилить
say	said	said	сказать, заявить
see	saw	seen	видеть
seek	sought	sought	искать
sell	sold	sold	продавать
send	sent	sent	посылать
set	set	set	ставить, устанавливать
sew	sewed	sewn / sewed	шить
shake	shook	shaken	трясти
shave	shaved	shaved / shaven	бриться
shear	sheared	sheared / shorn	стричь
shed	shed	shed	проливать
shine	shined / shone	shined / shone	светить, сиять, озарять
shoot	shot	shot	стрелять, давать побеги
show	showed	shown / showed	показывать
shrink	shrank / shrunk	shrunk	сокращаться, сжиматься
shut	shut	shut	закрывать, запирать, затворять
sing	sang	sung	петь
sink	sank / sunk	sunk	тонуть, погружаться (под воду)
sit	sat	sat	сидеть
slay	slew / slayed	slain / slayed	убивать
sleep	slept	slept	спать
slide	slid	slid	скользить
sling	slung	slung	бросать, швырять
slink	slunk	slunk	красться, идти крадучись
slit	slit	slit	разрезать, рвать в длину
smell	smelled / smelt	smelled / smelt	пахнуть, нюхать
sow	sowed	sown / sowed	сеять
speak	spoke	spoken	говорить
speed	sped / speeded	sped / speeded	ускорять, спешить
spell	spelled / spelt	spelled / spelt	писать или читать по буквам
spend	spent	spent	тратить, расходовать
spill	spilled / spilt	spilled / spilt	проливать, разливать
spin	spun	spun	прясть
spit	spit / spat	spit / spat	плевать
split	split	split	расщеплять
spoil	spoiled / spoilt	spoiled / spoilt	портить
spread	spread	spread	распространиться
spring	sprang / sprung	sprung	вскочить, возникнуть
stand	stood	stood	стоять
steal	stole	stolen	воровать, красть
stick	stuck	stuck	уколоть, приклеить
sting	stung	stung	жалить
stink	stunk / stank	stunk	вонять
strew	strewed	strewn / strewed	усеять, устлать
stride	strode	stridden	шагать, наносить удар
strike	struck	struck	ударить, бить, бастовать
string	strung	strung	нанизать, натянуть
strive	strove / strived	striven / strived	стараться
sublet	sublet	sublet	передавать в субаренду
swear	swore	sworn	клясться, присягать
sweep	swept	swept	мести, подметать, сметать
swell	swelled	swollen / swelled	разбухать
swim	swam	swum	плавать, плыть
swing	swung	swung	качать, раскачивать, вертеть
T
take	took	taken	брать, взять
teach	taught	taught	учить, обучать
tear	tore	torn	рвать
tell	told	told	рассказать
think	thought	thought	думать
throw	threw	thrown	бросить
thrust	thrust	thrust	колоть, пронзать
tread	trod	trodden / trod	ступать
U
unbend	unbent	unbent	выпрямляться, разгибаться
underbid	underbid	underbid	снижать цену
undercut	undercut	undercut	сбивать цены
undergo	underwent	undergone	испытывать, переносить
underlie	underlay	underlain	лежать в основе
underpay	underpaid	underpaid	оплачивать слишком низко
undersell	undersold	undersold	продавать дешевле
understand	understood	understood	понимать, постигать
undertake	undertook	undertaken	предпринять
underwrite	underwrote	underwritten	подписываться
undo	undid	undone	уничтожать сделанное
unfreeze	unfroze	unfrozen	размораживать
unsay	unsaid	unsaid	брать назад свои слова
unwind	unwound	unwound	развертывать
uphold	upheld	upheld	поддерживать
upset	upset	upset	опрокинуться
W
wake	woke / waked	woken / waked	просыпаться
waylay	waylaid	waylaid	подстерегать
wear	wore	worn	носить (одежду)
weave	wove / weaved	woven / weaved	ткать
wed	wed / wedded	wed / wedded	жениться, выдавать замуж
weep	wept	wept	плакать, рыдать
wet	wet / wetted	wet / wetted	мочить, увлажнять
win	won	won	победить, выиграть
wind	wound	wound	заводить (механизм)
withdraw	withdrew	withdrawn	взять назад, отозвать
withhold	withheld	withheld	воздерживаться, отказывать
withstand	withstood	withstood	противостоять
wring	wrung	wrung	скрутить, сжимать
write	wrote	written	писать

A verb is the part of speech (or word class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being. Verbs and verb phrases usually function as predicates. Verbs can display differences in tense, mood, aspect, number, person, and voice.

There are two main classes of verbs: lexical verbs (also known as main verbs), which aren’t dependent on other verbs, and auxiliary verbs (also called helping verbs). As with lexical versus auxiliary verbs, many types of verbs come in opposites.

Lexical vs. Auxiliary

Lexical verbs—also called full verbs—convey the semantic (or lexical) meaning in a sentence, such as:

• It rained last night.
• I ran fast.
• I ate the entire hamburger.

The great majority of verbs in English are lexical verbs. An auxiliary verb, by contrast, determines the mood or tense of another verb in a phrase, for example:

• It will rain tonight.

In this sentence, the verb will helps the verb rain by pointing to the future. In English, the auxiliary verbs are:

• Is, am, are, was, were
• Be, being, been
• Has, have, had
• Do, does, did
• Will, shall, should, would
• Can, could
• May, might, must

Dynamic vs. Stative

A dynamic verb is used primarily to indicate an action, process, or sensation as opposed to a state, such as:

• I bought a new guitar.

 It is also called an action or event verb. There are three major types of dynamic verbs:

• Accomplishment verbs: expressing action that has a logical endpoint
• Achievement verbs: expressing action that occurs instantaneously
• Activity verbs: expressing action that can go on for an indefinite period of time

A stative verb—such as be, have, know, like, own, seem, prefer, understand, belong, doubt, and hate—describes a state, situation, or condition, as in:

• Now I own a Gibson Explorer.
• We are what we believe we are.

A stative verb primarily describes a state or situation as opposed to an action or process. It can be a mental or emotional state as well as a physical state of being. The situations are unchanging while they last and can continue for a long or indefinite time period. These words are also known as state verbs or static verbs.

Finite vs. Nonfinite

A finite verb expresses tense and can occur on its own in a main clause, as in:

• She walked to school.

A finite verb shows agreement with a subject and is marked for tense. If there is just one verb in a sentence, that verb is finite. Put another way, a finite verb can stand by itself in a sentence. 

Nonfinite verbs, meanwhile, are not marked for tense and do not show agreement with a subject. A nonfinite verb (an infinitive or participle) doesn’t show a distinction in tense and can occur on its own only in a dependent phrase or clause, as in:

• While walking to school, she spotted a bluejay.

The main difference between finite and nonfinite verbs is that the former can act as the root of an independent clause, or full sentence, while the latter cannot. For example:

• The man runs to the store to get a gallon of milk.

The word runs is a finite verb because it agrees with the subject (man) and because it marks the tense (present tense). The word get is a nonfinite verb because it does not agree with the subject or mark the tense. Rather, it is an infinitive and depends on the main (finite) verb runs. 

Regular vs. Irregular

A regular verb forms its verb tenses, especially the past tense and past participle, by adding one in the set of generally accepted standardized suffixes. Regular verbs are conjugated by adding -d, -ed, -ing, or -s to its base form, unlike irregular verbs which have special rules for conjugation.

The majority of English verbs are regular. These are the principal parts of regular verbs:

1. The base form: the dictionary term for a word like walk
2. The -s form: used in the singular third person, present tense like walks
3. The -ed form: used in the past tense and past participle like walked
4. The -ing form: used in the present participle like walking

Regular verbs are predictable and always function the same regardless of speaker. An irregular verb does not follow the usual rules for verb forms. Verbs in English are irregular if they don’t have the conventional -ed ending (such as asked or ended) in the past tense and/or past participle forms.

Transitive vs. Intransitive

A transitive verb takes an object (a direct object and sometimes also an indirect object): 

• She sells seashells.

An intransitive verb doesn’t take a direct object:

• She sat there quietly.

This distinction is especially tricky because many verbs have both transitive and intransitive functions, depending on how they are used. The verb break, for instance, sometimes takes a direct object (Rihanna breaks my heart) and sometimes does not (When I hear your name, my heart breaks).

Phrasal vs. Prepositional

A phrasal verb is a type of compound verb made up of a verb (usually one of action or movement) and a prepositional adverb—also known as an adverbial particle. Phrasal verbs are sometimes called two-part verbs (take off and leave out) or three-part verbs (look up to and look down on).

There are hundreds of phrasal verbs in English, many of them (such as tear off, run out [of], and pull through) with multiple meanings. Linguist Angela Downing points out in «English Grammar: A University Course» that phrasal verbs are «one of the most distinctive features of present-day informal English, both in their abundance and in their productivity.» Phrasal verbs often appear in idioms.

A prepositional verb, by contrast, is an idiomatic expression that combines a verb and a preposition to make a new verb with a distinct meaning. Some examples of prepositional verbs in English are care for, long for, apply for, approve of, add to, resort to, result in, count on, and deal with.

The preposition in a prepositional verb is generally followed by a noun or pronoun, and thus prepositional verbs are transitive.

Other Types of Verbs

Since verbs describe all action or indicate all states of being in English, it’s not surprising that there are other types of verbs, which are important to know.

Catenative: A catenative verb can link with other verbs to form a chain or series. Examples include ask, keep, promise, help, want, and seem.

Causative: A causative verb is used to indicate that some person or thing makes—or helps to make—something happen. Examples of causative verbs include make, cause, allow, help, have, enable, keep, hold, let, force, and require, which can also be referred to as causal verbs or simply causatives.

Compound: A compound verb is made up of two or more words that function as a single verb. Conventionally, verb compounds are written as either one word (housesit) or two words joined with a hyphen (water-proof).

Copular: A copular verb is a specific type of linking verb that joins the subject of a sentence or clause to a subject complement. For example, the word is functions as a copular verb in the sentences, «Jane is my friend» and «Jane is friendly.»

Iterative: An iterative verb indicates that an action is (or was) repeated, such as, «Philip was kicking his sister.»

Linking: A linking verb is a traditional term for a type of verb (such as a form of be or seem) that joins the subject of a sentence to a word or phrase that tells something about the subject. For example, is functions as a linking verb in the sentence: The boss is unhappy.

Mental-state: A mental-state verb is a verb with a meaning related to understanding, discovering, planning, or deciding. Mental-state verbs refer to cognitive states that are generally unavailable for outside evaluation. For example: Tom’s teaching ability is known by all his colleagues.

Performative: A performative verb conveys the kind of speech act being performed—such as promise, invite, apologize, predict, vow, request, warn, insist, and forbid. It is also known as speech-act verb or performative utterance. 

Prepositional: A prepositional verb is an idiomatic expression that combines a verb and a preposition to make a new verb with a distinct meaning. Some examples are care for, long for, apply for, approve of, add to, resort to, result in, count on, and deal with.

Reporting: A reporting verb (such as say, tell, believe, reply, respond, or ask) is used to indicate that discourse is being quoted or paraphrased, such as: I highly recommend that you get a better lawyer. It is also called a communication verb.