Intermediate English Grammar for ESL Learners - Robin Torres-Gouzerh 2016

12 Past participles with get

Past participles can be used with the verb get. Get may be followed by a wide variety of adjectives and may occur in any tense, including in a progressive form.

I’m getting hungry. Let’s go pick up some food soon.

I stopped working, because I got dizzy.

You shouldn’t eat so much. You will get fat.

Following is a list of adjectives commonly used with get.

In the structure get + past participle, the past participle functions as an adjective; it describes the subject noun or pronoun of the sentence. Consider the following examples.

They are getting engaged next week.

Dad got worried, because Lola was three hours late and didn’t bother to call.

Using get + past participle instead of be + past participle indicates a changing situation. The meaning of get in the above sentences is similar to the meaning of become. Compare the examples above with the following.

They will become engaged next week.

Dad became worried, because Lola was three hours late and didn’t bother to call.

This structure with get can occur in any tense.

All the tense forms are grammatically correct. Some, such as the future perfect progressive, are avoided, however, because they sound awkward. A simpler tense is used in place of such awkward phrases.

Exercise 12.1 Rewrite each sentence with the progressive form of the verb, adding a second clause that provides an interruption of or an explanation for the continuous action. Retain the tense of the original sentence.

Example She got overtired.

She was getting overtired, because the heat was so intense.

1. No one gets hired.

2. Larry got annoyed.

3. His pay gets increased.

4. Younger candidates get elected.

5. He got fingerprinted.

Exercise 12.2 Complete each sentence with an appropriate form of get and the correct form of the verb in parentheses.

Example The roofers were getting badly sunburned. (badly + sunburn)

1. I think I’ll stop jogging. I ... . (tire)

2. When ... they ...? (marry)

3. We can head out to the discotheque as soon as you ... . (dress)

4. He didn’t give us proper directions, so we ... . (lost)

5. There was an explosion, but nobody ... . (hurt)

6. I finished painting for today. I ... . (tire)

7. How long did it take her to ... to living in Boston? (accustom)

8. Sophie said she would call me at eight. It’s eleven, and she still hasn’t called me, so I ... . (worry)

9. He ..., because everyone told him something different. (confuse)

10. You’ll be able to play again. Don’t ... because you lost. (upset)

11. I will meet up with them as soon as I ... . (do)

12. I ... easily, so I hardly ever finish watching movies. (bore)

13. Peter ... after losing his job, but now he is doing a little better. (depress)

14. I’ll be ready to leave for the airport as soon as I ... . (pack)

15. I ... on Friday, so that’s when I’ll buy a new bed. (pay)

16. After Henry graduated from Harvard, he ... by a large company, but later he ... , because he didn’t agree with some of the business policies. (hire/fire)

17. I almost missed the deadline to turn in my thesis. I ... with my last chapter until four in the morning. (not + finish)

18. First, he ... . Then, he ... . After barely four years, he ... . (engage, marry, divorce)