So many professionals and I imagine you too find the verb get really difficult.
This is an essential verb in business English, but it can be really confusing.
So I'd like to break it down for you to help build your confidence with it.
Let's crack on then, shall we?
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So the verb GET is really challenging and the reason for this is that it pops up in loads of different ways.
It pops up just on its own like to get a promotion for example, it also appears in expressions to get the ball rolling and we can also throw it into some phrasal verbs as well like to get back to someone.
That's why it's difficult.
So what I want to do is break this down into little chunks and this is what we would do in neural language coaching.
I don't, I can't possibly go over all the meanings of GET in this one episode.
We're going to do it in little stages and build it from the basics upwards.
In this episode today, then we're just going to focus on GET on its own, not in an expression or a phrasal verb.
And I'm going to start to run you through some of the key categories.
we'll see how far we get today, and then we'll pick it up and we'll go into more depth in a future episode.
Let's start then with one of the biggest categories of get that I'm sure you may already be familiar with, which is about obtaining or receiving things.
Now this could be something physical or it can be something abstract.
In a business context this comes up all the time.
If we talk about physical things it could be, imagine that you join a company and you have to get a pass from reception.
Notice the preposition there.
Maybe you also have to get a laptop from IT or you maybe have to get a password from them it's not something physical but you're still obtaining a password from them.
Then you've also got a lovely little category of business phrases like to get an idea of something.
We really need to get an idea of what's going on.
Or we to get a feel for the situation.
That's like an understanding, you can also say to get an understanding.
We're going to do this survey, so that we can get an understanding of what's going on.
All of those phrases are nothing more than saying obtain.
We need to obtain an idea or something, we need to obtain an understanding.
Also then in this category of obtaining and You've got lots of business phrases.
To get an email from somebody, to get a call from somebody, to get feedback from somebody.
You can see a pattern here, to get a response from somebody, to get approval from the board. To get more time, perhaps, if you need an extension on one of your projects.
Also, to get a promotion.
Along that line, we can also talk about getting sales, Getting a new client, getting a qualification like a PhD, for example, or a Master's.
All of those fit in that category of obtaining and receiving.
Let me just take a second here as well.
Because one thing I hear a lot, especially maybe you work in sales or you have targets and I hear a sentence like I got all my goals last year.
It's totally understandable, but we're less likely to use get when we're talking about goals.
It would be more natural I think to say to reach your goals, to achieve your goals rather than get.
But I mean it's a small point, it doesn't really matter because it's totally understandable.
Just a quick recap then, one of the biggest meanings of get on its own is about obtaining and receiving things.
And you know, even sentences like, I didn't really get a good impression from the candidate, perhaps you're interviewing somebody, you're just saying I didn't really obtain a good impression, or you know, I went to visit the company but I didn't really get a good vibe from the team.
Again, I just didn't obtain a good vibe from them.
Or maybe you speak to one of your colleagues after a conference and you say, oh how was it?
And they might say, well it was okay but I didn't really get a lot from it." Well they're essentially saying I didn't obtain a lot from it.
The a lot being knowledge, essentially, or new information.
Let's move on then to another core meaning of get, which I actually think a lot of people are less familiar with.
This is about going for something and retrieving someone or something for somebody else.
That sounds a little bit complex. So let me give you a simple example.
Have you ever been in a physical space?
And this is often when you're here at like the office for example, and maybe one of your colleagues says Anna could you could you get Jane for me?
Maybe you're thinking like get Jane like obtain Jane, receive Jane.
That all sounds a little bit weird. well actually what they're asking you is can you go to Jane and retrieve her and bring her here because I need to speak to her?
Or imagine another situation you're in the office, you're at your desk and your colleague is at the desk next to you.
Now they're on the phone with a client so they can't leave their desk but there's a document that they need just on the other side of the office.
they might quickly put the phone on their shoulder and then say Anna could you get that document for me and what they're asking you to do is go to that desk retrieve the document and bring it to them.
While we're on this topic of retrieving things there's also a really common phrase which I bet you've heard before.
Have you ever heard one of your colleagues say something like I'm just gonna go and get lunch or maybe they invite you to have a coffee before the and they say something like John do you want to go and get a coffee before the meeting?
Or maybe you're just sat next to your colleague and they say I'm just gonna go and get something from the printer.
Or imagine you have a little staff kitchen and they say I'm just gonna go and get my mug from the kitchen for example.
So in short to get can be used to talk about retrieving things and And then go and get is a very common phrase that we use, especially when we need to leave a space to go and retrieve something.
And just a little added point here as well, we wouldn't use the verb retrieve.
That would sound very formal.
Can you go and retrieve Maria or can you go and retrieve the document?
That wouldn't sound natural at all.
So we would use get there just to let you know and give you a bit of a heads up.
I'd like to finish then with another more straightforward meaning of get that you will definitely hear in a business context, which is about understanding things.
I'm really sorry but I didn't get what you were saying could you repeat that?
Which is just another way of saying I didn't really understand what you're saying.
Or even if we're having a little bit of a disagreement and I say look I get your point but I don't think that it's the right way forward. Another situation could be imagine that you're giving a presentation to your executive team about a new idea, then you're getting some feedback and they tell you, well we liked the presentation but we just didn't really get it.
Meaning they just didn't really understand it.
You could also be having a colloquial conversation with your colleague and imagine that your company has fired one part of the organization and they're kind of expressing their shock and they're like I just don't get it.
I don't understand why they've been fired.
Another situation could be that you're going for a job but in the end you decide not to go ahead with it because you don't think it's right and maybe you're talking with the recruiter and you're explaining that you don't think it's the best move for you right now and they're like I I get it but I think you would be great in the role so they're just saying that they understand it Let's wrap it up then and I'd like to invite you to do some sentences with me just to finish up I'm gonna give you a sentence repeat after me and we're going to go over some of the main meanings of get here's the first
sentence repeat wherever you are out loud if you can.
We need to try and get more time for the project.
Did you manage to get a pass from reception?
I think we need to get a feel for the situation first. Could you get Jane for me?
Would you mind getting that document on the other desk?
I'm just going to go and get some lunch. Shall we go and get a coffee before the meeting?
I didn't really get the idea of what you wanted to say.
I get your point but I don't agree.
All right we'll leave it there for today, and I hope that maybe even if you knew some of those meanings already it almost confirms that what you know is right and maybe you picked up a couple of extra things there as well which is fantastic.
And again always the objective of this is just to build your confidence, whether that's about you understanding what people are saying or maybe from this you're like, Okay, actually, I feel more confident to use that phrase at work too.
As I said before, we're just dipping our toes in the water here these are some of the core meanings of Gep but we're going to come back to some other ones, some more advanced ones in the future and we'll build it up step by step.
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Thank you as always for squeezing in this session into your very busy day it is a pleasure to accompany you and I shall see you again very soon for the next one thanks again bye bye
