#20 - to Get

Get--the word which means so many things that it practically doesn't mean anything.  There are hundreds of different phrases with "get" that we English-speakers use on a daily basis without even thinking about it:


She got $200 for that gig.  (get = reçevoir)
What time did you get home? (arriver)
Where did you get that idea? (trouver)
What did you get him for Christmas? (offrir)
What did you get at the store?  (acheter)
You get what I mean?  (comprendre / piger)
He's getting old.  (devenir)
Get out!  (sortir)
Get out of the way! (dégage)
Get up.  (lève-toi)

Not to mention all the more complex ones, like:

Something that happens to you (quelque chose qui t'arrive):

• I got fired from my job.  (Je me suis fais viré, J'étais viré de mon boulot)
• He got mugged. (Il a été détroussé, Il s'est fait voler)
• We got invited to a party.  (On était invité à une soirée)
• My book got published last May.   (Mon livre a été publié en mai dernier)

Something that implies movement from one place to another:

• get away (s'échapper)
• get around (contourner, se déplacer)
• get in (entrer, arriver à entrer...)
• get out (sortir)
• get off the bus (descendre du bus)
• get on your bike (monter sur ton vélo)

The way we use it to describe a necessity:

• I've got to go.  (Il faut que je parte) 
• He's got to pass this test. (Il faut qu'il réussisse cet examen) 
• There's got to be another way.  (Il doit être un autre moyen)

And a bajillion other unclassifiable ones like:

• Get along with someone (s'entendre bien avec quelqu'un)
• Get over it! (reprends-toi! / passe à autre chose... / oublie)
• What do I get out of it? (Comment j'en profite, moi ?)  
• I get by with a little help from my friends.  (Je me débrouille avec l'aide de mes amis)
  
• I get a kick out of you (Je m'éclate avec toi)
   
• Get down, get funky!  (I don't even know how to translate this... éclatez-vous?  Soyez cool ?)
  
• Get on with it!  (Allez!  Continuez ! -- Thank you Monty Python for your lovely demonstration ^_^) 

In fact, this tendency for a short, simple word to drastically change meanings based on the word that follows is very common in English; they're called phrasal verbs.  It goes a long way to explaining why French people often sound awkward or overly formal when speaking English.  They tend to say "enter" (entrer) where we would say "go in."  They tend to say "arrive" (arriver) instead of "get there."  Other very simple words can spin off into a million different meanings: put out, put in, put up with, put into, put off, put away, put up, put down, etc.  I personally don't know any other language that uses phrasal verbs so prolifically.  It certainly doesn't help foreigners who are trying to learn it.

Ahh, English, it is a cruel twist of fate that you became the international language...but I guess everyone else has just got to get over it, get some English books, and get studying!