7 expressions with get
Idioms | B1

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!

#1 to get a shock

Accent: North America

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. .

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I a when . He he's 10 .

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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)

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Naples – .

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visit Naples the – the pizza there .

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About the sentence

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)

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I know unpleasant , but if know him you'll .

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About the sentence

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

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I flat, previous owners dog haven't to get smell.

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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

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I've to of you , why haven't phone ?

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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

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. ASAP.

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That dripping really nerves. We it ASAP.

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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

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is going , it's a while to everything.

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In

Idioms

Ireland, North America, Northern England, Received Pronunciation, Scotland

23 responses

Chiffa
February 24, 2019
It`s quite interesting to know Chris, whether an average English speaking person easily understand such challenging to our ear Scottish and Irish accents?
Reply
1. Chris Bargery
  February 24, 2019
  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.
  Reply
Mari
February 27, 2019
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.
Reply
1. Chris Bargery
  February 28, 2019
  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’.
  Reply
MILAXE
March 5, 2019
is correct to say: “do not judge anyone until get to know one well”
Reply
1. Chris Bargery
  March 5, 2019
  Hi Milagros!
  I understand exactly what you mean, but I would simplify it: “Don’t judge anyone until you get to know them”
  Reply
Niki
December 25, 2019
How we can improve conversation
Reply

7 expressions with get
Idioms | B1