Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Zac Tobias
www.hablamejoringles.com
To get es uno de los verbos ms verstiles del ingls, y por eso algunos estudiantes piensan que pueden
"utilizarlo para todo". En realidad es importante saber emplearlo con precisin.
Los usos bsicos de to get se pueden agrupar en tres categoras:
1. obtencin
2. movimiento
3. cambios de estado
Vamos a ver cada una en detalle...
USOS PRINCIPALES DE TO GET
1. obtencin
Con este sentido to get se podra traducir por conseguir, obtener, recibir, coger, ir a buscar y a veces
comprar. Es similar al verbo pillar en espaol, aunque to get no suena tan coloquial.
Aqu van unos ejemplos:
Where did you get that chair? (Dnde compraste/conseguiste esa silla?)
Could you get another fork from the kitchen? (Podras coger/ir a buscar otro tenedor de la cocina?)
Have you gotten any e-mails from her?(Has recibido algn mail de ella?)
Where did you get that idea? (Qu te dio esa idea?)
Get a veces signfica entender o pillar una idea.
I don't get it. (No lo entiendo./No lo pillo.)
En ingls americano el pasado de to get es got y el participio del pasado es gotten; en ingls britnico tanto el
pasado como el participio del pasado son got.
to get + adjetivo
to be + adjetivo
Aqu van unos ejemplos de adjetivos y participios del pasado con to get y to be:
Eat your soup before it gets cold. (Come tu sopa antes de que se enfre.)
This soup is cold. Would you mind heating it up? (Esta sopa est fria. Te importara calentarla?)
Without a good map you'll get lost. (Sin un buen mapa te perders.)
Were lost. Lets ask someone for help. (Estamos perdidos. Vamos a pedirle ayuda a alguien.)
My parents got divorced before I was born. (Mis padres se divorciaron antes de que naciera.)
My parents are divorced. (Mis padres estn divorciados.)
I can never get that my children to eat vegetables. (Nunca consigo que mis nios coman verduras.)
How did you get that your students to learn that? (Cmo conseguiste que tus alumnos aprendieran
eso?)
Frases de este tipo siguen la misma estructura que utilizamos con to want, to tell, y to need (vase la
unidad "traducir el subjuntivo: el that que sobra" de Habla mejor ingls, el libro).
la diferencia entre to get in, to go in, etc.
Cuando utilizamos get in y get out con el significado de entrar y salir, damos a entender que hay algn
tipo de impedimento a nuestra entrada o salida. Por ejemplo,
If you don't have keys, you can get in through the window. (Si no tienes llaves, puedes entrar por la
ventana.)
Remember to close the door so the cat doesn't get out. (Acurdate de cerrar la puerta para que no se
escape el gato.)
Si no hay ningn tipo de barrera fsica o abstracta, es mejor utilizar go in/go out.
Should we wait for the waiter, or can we just get go in and sit down? (Esperamos el camarero, o
podemos entrar y sentarnos directamente?)
EJERCICIOS
Qu significa to get en cada una de las frases siguientes? Tradcelas al espaol.
1. We're looking for the Empire State Building. Could you tell us when to get off?
________________________________________________________________________________
2. I never got your call.
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3. If it breaks, don't fix it. Just get another one.
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4. His grades are good enough to get into any university.
________________________________________________________________________________
5. We don't get that channel.
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6. You've explained this to me before, but I still don't get it.
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7. Where did you get this painting?
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8. Our schedules are completely different. When you get to work, I'm just getting home.
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Rellena los huecos con una palabra para completar las frases.
9. We always bring movies on long car trips so our kids don't get ___________.
10. Some soldiers never get ___________ the trauma of war.
11. It was great to see you. I hope we can get ___________ again soon.
12. Our dog has gotten ___________ hundreds of times, so we always keep him on a leash (una correa).
13. Most couples like to get ___________ in the spring, so churches are really busy at that time of year.
2012 Zachary Tobias / www.hablamejoringles.com
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Para nota: estos ejercicios de traduccin combinan el uso de to get con algunos de los temas tratados
en Habla mejor ingls, el libro.
41. No suelo bajarme en esta parada.
________________________________________________________________________________
42. No habra conseguido este trabajo sin tu ayuda.
________________________________________________________________________________
43. Casarse es mucho ms fcil que divorciarse.
________________________________________________________________________________
2012 Zachary Tobias / www.hablamejoringles.com
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Respuestas
1. Estamos buscando el Empire State Building. Podra decirnos cundo bajarnos?
2. Nunca recib tu llamada.
3. Si se rompe, no lo arregles. Compra otro.
4. Sus notas son lo suficientemente buenas para entrar en cualquier universidad.
5. No sintonizamos/pillamos esa cadena.
6. Me lo has explicado antes, pero an no lo entiendo.
7. Dnde compraste/conseguiste este cuadro?
8. Nuestros horarios son completamente distintos. Cuando tu llegas al trabajo, yo estoy llegando a casa.
9. We always bring movies on long car trips so our kids don't get bored.
10. Some soldiers never get over the trauma of war.
11. It was great to see you. I hope we can get together again soon.
12. Our dog has gotten lost hundreds of times, so we always keep him on a leash (una correa).
13. Most couples like to get married in the spring, so churches are really busy at that time of year.
14. If you dont need it anymore, get rid of it.
15. When I get home after work, the first thing I do is take off my shoes.
16. Barcelona is a long drive from here. How long will it take us to get there?
17. We got our boss to give us the afternoon off.
18. Did you have any pets when you were a kid?
19. It was raining, so we went into a bar until it stopped.
20. What time do you usually get home?
21. How much does a train ticket cost? It depends on where you get on and off.
22. Even when he plays against people are better than him, he somehow manages to win.
23. I get so bored when I watch long movies.
24. Without GPS I always get lost.
25. What time do you get up?
26. What time do you get to work?
27. What time do you get home?
28. He/She got a job a week after getting married.
29. When we started getting/to get cold we got in the car.
30. Im getting hungry. Lets get off the bus and get something to eat.
31. Im going to get some bread.
32. Get ready: things are going to get interesting.
33. Were still getting to know each other.
34. We tried to find the restaurant but we got lost.
35. How can I achieve my goals?
36. Will we get there before it gets dark?
37. If you close the door I cant get out.
38. That really gets on my nerves!
39. At first/At the beginning I was interested, but I got bored after ten minutes.
40. How did you manage to get lost in your own neighborhood?
41. I dont usually get off at this stop.
2012 Zachary Tobias / www.hablamejoringles.com
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