Get

Data

• Middlesex
• data

punctual/ inceptive

• She got pregnant in May and gave birth in February. (pregnant = ADJ)
• I usually get to work before 9 and get home around 7.
• We need to get the ball rolling.
• Let's get started.
• I usually get paid on the 6th.
• She gets back late on Thursdays.

difficulty

• We got the project finished on time, but it wasn't easy!
• Its hard to get it right all the time, but we do try.
• She tried to get fired for several years, but as a civil servant that's not always easy to do.

comparative

Get, because it is a verb used when the grammatical subject is both SUBJECT and OBJECT of the action or predication, is often used with state changes and comparatives:

• It's getting easier and easier to get lost in my mailbox. I need to delete some messages!
• It's getting a bit harder to find a coin-operated public pay phone these days.
• They're getting better at calling us back when we leave a message.

causative

resume of main causatives in English

Cf.

• I made them come. (I forced them to...)
• I had them come. (because that's just part of my power... Bwahaha!)
• I got them to come. (because I'm persuasive... re-bwahaha!)
• I asked them to come. (not a causative as such, because I'm not sure they're coming)

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• Get emphasizes both the difficulty and the exchange involved in imposing one's will on someone or something.

examples

• I finally got them to send me the bill.
• It's hard to get landlords to refund a damage deposit.