Phrasal Verbs with Get and Take
GET and TAKE are two of the most productive verbs in English for forming phrasal verbs, creating dozens of essential combinations that native speakers use constantly in everyday conversation. These high-frequency base verbs combine with various particles to express everything from daily routines and emotions to business activities and social interactions, making them absolutely crucial for natural, fluent English communication.
Understanding GET phrasal verbs enables you to discuss movement, emotions, relationships, and acquisition with the natural expressions that native speakers use instinctively. Similarly, TAKE phrasal verbs are essential for expressing actions, responsibilities, characteristics, and activities that form the backbone of conversational and professional English across all contexts and situations.
The versatility of GET and TAKE phrasal verbs extends from the most basic daily activities like getting up and taking off clothes to sophisticated business expressions like taking on responsibilities and getting ahead in careers. This range makes them indispensable for learners who want to move beyond textbook English to authentic, native-like communication.
Mastering GET and TAKE phrasal verbs will transform your English fluency, enabling you to express complex ideas with the natural, idiomatic language that characterises native speaker communication whilst building a solid foundation for understanding the countless other phrasal verb combinations that follow similar patterns and principles throughout English.
GET Phrasal Verbs
Daily Routine and Movement
Morning and Evening Routines:
- get up - wake up and rise from bed
"I get up at 7am every morning." - get dressed - put on clothes
"She got dressed quickly for work." - get ready - prepare oneself
"How long does it take you to get ready?" - get home - arrive at home
"What time did you get home last night?"
Movement and Transport:
- get in/into - enter a vehicle
"Get in the car, we're late!" - get out/out of - exit a vehicle
"Get out of the taxi here." - get on - board public transport
"Get on the bus at the next stop." - get off - leave public transport
"I get off at Oxford Street."
Emotions and Relationships
Emotional States:
- get over - recover from illness/problem
"It took months to get over the breakup." - get through - survive a difficult period
"We'll get through this together." - get down - become depressed
"Don't let the weather get you down." - get upset - become emotionally disturbed
"She gets upset when people are late."
Social Relationships:
- get along/on with - have good relationship
"I get along well with my colleagues." - get together - meet socially
"Let's get together for coffee soon." - get back together - reunite romantically
"They got back together after the argument." - get away from - escape from someone
"I need to get away from toxic people."
Achievement and Progress
Success and Achievement:
- get ahead - make progress/succeed
"Hard work helps you get ahead in life." - get by - manage with limited resources
"We can get by on one salary for now." - get somewhere - make progress
"Now we're getting somewhere with this project." - get there - achieve goal/succeed
"Keep trying, you'll get there eventually."
Work and Tasks:
- get down to - start working seriously
"Let's get down to business." - get on with - continue doing work
"I need to get on with my report." - get round to - finally find time for
"I must get round to cleaning the garage." - get through - complete work/tasks
"I have so much work to get through today."
TAKE Phrasal Verbs
Physical Actions and Movement
Clothing and Objects:
- take off - remove clothing/depart
"Take off your shoes before entering." - take out - remove from inside
"Take out the rubbish, please." - take apart - disassemble
"He took apart the watch to fix it." - take away - remove/confiscate
"The teacher took away his phone."
Movement and Direction:
- take along - bring someone/something
"Take along an umbrella, it might rain." - take back - return something
"I need to take back these library books." - take down - remove from high place
"Help me take down the Christmas decorations." - take up - occupy space/time
"This table takes up too much room."
Activities and Interests
Starting New Activities:
- take up - start a new hobby/activity
"I want to take up photography this year." - take on - accept responsibility/challenge
"She's taking on a new project at work." - take part in - participate
"Will you take part in the competition?" - take over - assume control
"Who will take over when the manager leaves?"
Characteristics and Behaviour:
- take after - resemble family member
"She takes after her mother in looks." - take to - start liking something
"He took to swimming like a duck to water." - take in - understand/absorb information
"There's so much information to take in." - take against - develop dislike for
"I've taken against that restaurant."
Business and Professional Context
Work Responsibilities:
- take on - accept new responsibilities
"The company is taking on new employees." - take over - assume control/management
"The new CEO will take over next month." - take charge - assume leadership
"Someone needs to take charge of this situation." - take care of - handle/manage
"I'll take care of the arrangements."
Communication and Records:
- take down - write down information
"Let me take down your contact details." - take back - retract a statement
"I take back what I said about the project." - take in - understand fully
"Did you take in everything from the presentation?" - take up - discuss/raise an issue
"I'll take up your concerns with management."
Common Mistakes to Avoid
✗ "I need to get on with my homework." Wait, that's correct!
✗ "I need to get with my homework."
✓ "I need to get on with my homework."
Don't omit particles - "get on with" means continue doing
✗ "She takes after to her mother."
✓ "She takes after her mother."
"Take after" doesn't need "to" - it's already complete
✗ "I want to take up with photography."
✓ "I want to take up photography."
"Take up" (start hobby) doesn't need "with"
✗ "Please take off it."
✓ "Please take it off."
Pronouns must separate separable phrasal verbs
✗ "I get always up early."
✓ "I always get up early."
Adverbs of frequency go before the main verb, not between verb and particle
GET vs TAKE: Key Differences
GET generally suggests:
- Receiving or obtaining
get a job, get home, get better - Becoming or changing state
get upset, get ready, get married - Movement towards speaker
get in, get back, get over here - Achieving or reaching
get ahead, get through, get there
TAKE generally suggests:
- Grasping or removing
take off, take out, take away - Accepting or adopting
take on, take up, take part - Movement away from speaker
take along, take back, take down - Assuming or resembling
take after, take charge, take over
Separability Patterns: GET and TAKE
Separable (can split with pronouns):
- get back - Get it back / Get back the money
- take off - Take it off / Take off your coat
- take out - Take it out / Take out the rubbish
- take down - Take it down / Take down the poster
- take apart - Take it apart / Take apart the engine
- get through - Get it through / Get through the work
Inseparable (never split):
- get over - Get over it (never "get it over")
- get along with - Get along with them
- take after - Take after him
- take care of - Take care of it
- get away from - Get away from them
- take part in - Take part in it
Formality Levels
Informal/Casual:
- get up, get going
- get together, hang out
- take off (leave quickly)
- get away with (escape punishment)
- get down (feel sad)
- take it easy
Neutral/Professional:
- get ahead, get through
- take on, take over
- get back to (respond)
- take part in
- take care of
- get down to (start work)
More Formal:
- take charge
- take over (assume control)
- get round to (formal contexts)
- take up (raise an issue)
- get through to (contact)
- take down (record information)
Using GET and TAKE Phrasal Verbs in Different Tenses
GET examples across tenses:
TAKE examples across tenses:
Advanced Patterns and Multiple Meanings
Multiple meanings of GET UP:
- Wake and rise: "I get up at 6am."
- Stand up: "Get up from your chair."
- Organise/arrange: "Let's get up a meeting."
- Dress up: "She got up as a witch for Halloween."
Multiple meanings of TAKE OFF:
- Remove clothing: "Take off your shoes."
- Leave quickly: "He took off without saying goodbye."
- Aircraft departure: "The plane takes off at 3pm."
- Become successful: "Her career really took off."
- Have time off: "I'm taking tomorrow off."
Context determines meaning:
"Get through" - survive (emotions) vs complete (work) vs contact (phone)
"Take in" - understand (information) vs make smaller (clothes) vs accommodate (guests)
"Get over" - recover from (illness) vs cross (bridge) vs communicate (message)
Quick Reference: Most Essential Combinations
Top 15 GET phrasal verbs:
Top 15 TAKE phrasal verbs:
Learning Strategies for GET and TAKE
Memory techniques:
- Group by particle: All the "up" combinations (get up, take up)
- Group by meaning: All the movement verbs together
- Create stories: "I get up, get dressed, and get ready"
- Practice with routine: Describe your daily activities
Practice methods:
- Substitution: Replace single verbs with phrasal verbs
- Sentence completion: Fill in the particle
- Dialogue practice: Use in natural conversations
- Media exposure: Notice them in TV shows and films