Tu cita con el inglés (vol.14) – Let’s GET it on

Oh…el dichoso “get”… ¿Acaso hay otra palabra que se utilice más en la lengua inglesa? Pues la verdad es que parece ser que no, según lo que nos cuenta el profesor Ronan O’Donnell en su artículo de este mes.

Con un práctico cuestionario que te ayudará a conocer cuál es tu nivel en cuanto a los usos más comunes de “get”, y con un interesante videoclip con una canción de lo más “sugerente”; el artículo de este mes no tiene desperdicio.

Y, como de costumbre, os animamos a que nos comentéis de qué temas os gustaría que Ronan hablara en su próximo artículo, así como que compartáis con él vuestras ideas y sugerencias en su página de Facebook: facebook.com/A2BEnglish, donde encontraréis, además, muchos consejos y curiosidades sobre la lengua de Shakespeare y sobre cómo mejorar vuestro nivel de inglés.

Let’s Get It On

Voted the most common verb in the English language by English students, get pops up everywhere you look.  Let’s get it on, to get on with, get married, get off with, get over and it’s getting more confusing; the list is endless.

Where do you start? Well, a good start would be to check your dictionary for the most common uses.

Check your understanding of get by answering the Get Questionnaire.

1. Do you get annoyed when people talk loudly on their mobile phones?
2. Are you the type of person who always gets his/her own way? Are you spoiled?
3. What songs get you in the mood for work/going out/relaxing?
4. What items of clothing or shoes do you need to get rid of? (Anything you haven’t worn for 1 year should usually be placed in this category)
5. Do you get on well with your family? Who do you get on best with?
6. Does it usually take you a long time to get over an illness or do you recover quickly?
7. What celebrity really gets on your nerves?
8. Do you ever feel like you need to get away from it all and escape to the countryside?
9. What do you think is the most suitable age to get married?
10. Do you find it easy or difficult to get your point across in an argument?
11. Is there something that you need to get round to doing but cannot seem to find the time.
12. Have you ever done something wrong and got caught or have you ever done anything wrong and got away with it.

How did you get on? Get is also a very common verb used in multi word verbs and phrasal verbs. Here is a short list. See if you can choose the correct option in the following quiz.

(a)    She finally got back /got around to answering my email.

(b)   What did you get up to /get on with at the weekend?

(c)    ‘Get on with/ get away with your work’ said the teacher.

(d)   What time did you get up/on this morning?

(e)   John gets along/ahead very well with his brother.

(f)     I don’t speak much German but I have enough to get by/on.

Answers
(a) Got around, (b) get up to, (c) get on with, (d) get up, (e) gets along, (f) get by