Learn 10 crucial idioms with get and dramatically improve your vocabulary. Natural English expressions that will make your daily conversations sound more natural, just like a native speaker’s.
This lesson is perfect for anyone learning English who wants to know more words, say things the way native speakers do, and get better at understanding and speaking the language.
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List of English idioms
10 Crucial Idioms With Get
Harry
In today’s advanced English, we’re focusing on idioms that use the verb ‘get’. It’s a key verb that appears in many useful expressions, making your English sound more natural and fluent.
I’ve prepared ten of these natural expressions for us to learn together. I’ll explain each one and provide some examples to help you understand how they’re used in real-life situations.
And, as always, if you have any questions or need further clarification, I’ll provide my contact information at the end of the lesson for any queries you might have.
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get real
Meaning: used to tell someone to understand and accept the true situation
Examples:
Come on, get real, you’re dreaming of winning the lottery but you never even buy a lotto ticket.
Get real, you can’t expect to pass the English exam if you don’t start studying.
get a life
Meaning: start doing more interesting or meaningful things
Examples:
Stop watching TV all day and go outside. Get a life!
If you spend every weekend just playing video games, maybe it’s time to get a life and meet some new friends.
He works all the time. He really needs to get a life and enjoy some of his free time.
10 Crucial Idioms With Get
get your act together
Meaning: start organising yourself better and behave more responsibly or appropriately
Examples:
You need to get your act together. I’ve heard rumours that the manager has noticed.
You need to get your act together. Partying instead of studying won’t help you pass your finals.
You’re always late and missing deadlines. It’s time to get your act together or you’ll fail the course.
get on someone’s nerves
Meaning: to annoy or irritate someone
Examples:
The guy next to me in the office always taps his fingers on the table and it gets on my nerves.
People coughing in a concert hall always get on my nerves.
That guy is really getting on my nerves. I wish he would move to another office.
get on like a house on fire
Meaning: to quickly become very good friends with someone, often sharing a lot of interests and enjoying each other’s company a lot
Examples:
Sarah and Linda met in college and instantly got on like a house on fire.
Jake and Jaime met at the party last week and now they get on like a house on fire, hanging out together every day.
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get the message
Meaning: to understand what someone means without them saying it directly
Examples:
When my boss hinted, I got the message and started staying later to finish projects.
Tim clearly got the message when he started doing his homework right after dinner.
I think Tim finally got the message and began taking his studies seriously.
get your own way
Meaning: to succeed in getting what you want, even if others disagree
Examples:
Oh, Johnnie is so spoilt. He just has to moan a little bit, and he always gets his (own) way.
Why is it that Michael always gets his own way? I have to work a bit harder and do more.
get a grip
Meaning: to control your emotions and behave more calmly or sensibly
Examples:
Get a grip! You’re losing it. You’re going to have a breakdown if you don’t calm down right now.
Get a grip, we need to think clearly and make a decision, panicking won’t help us solve this problem.
Calm down, get a grip. Tell me what happened. If you want me to go and talk to the teacher, I’ll do it.
10 Crucial Idioms With Get
get the hang of something
Meaning: to eventually learn how to use or how to do something
Examples:
Harry struggled with technology at first. But after sticking with it, he’s got the hang of it and is now using it confidently.
After a couple of sessions, you’ll get the hang of it and start feeling more confident and skilled.
get something off your chest
Meaning: to share your worries, concerns or secrets, so you feel better afterwards
Examples:
I can see from the look on your face that you need to get something off your chest.
That was great. I really felt relieved to get that off my chest.
I need to talk to someone about how I’ve been feeling lately; I just have to get it off my chest to feel better.
So here are 10 crucial idioms with ‘get’ that will make your English instantly sound better. Let me give them to you one more time:
- get real
- get a life
- get your (her, etc) act together
- get on someone’s nerves
- get on like a house on fire
- get the message
- get your own way
- get a grip
- get the hang of something
- get something off your chest
So you’ve had 10 important idioms with ‘get.’ I’ve explained them. I’ve given you the examples. So you need to practice.
You know the drill by now. You practice them if you can introduce them or some of them into your speech, well then you’ll get to use and understand them a lot better.
If you need other examples, you come back to me www.englishlessonviaskype.com and I try to help you a little bit further.
As always, I really appreciate you watching and listening and see you again soon.
speak better English with Harry podcast- episode 473
more information
For more information on English grammar rules, English collocations and English idioms, check out the links below:
Intermediate English travel vocabulary
English vocabulary related to driving
You can always study English advanced level at Learning English with the BBC and British Council Learn English.
