An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get around', with lots of examples in context.
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs!
'Get around' is a moderately common English phrasal verb with a number of distinct and useful meanings are great to know to help make your English sound more natural. In this article, I will explain the different applications that 'get around' has, from getting around a problem' to getting your head around something, with lots of examples in context to help you understand how and when to use them! So, without further ado, let's make a start. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end!
GET AROUND: KEY INFORMATION For an explanation of the terms in the table, click here.Â
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 5 |
Past tense forms | Got around / Gotten around |
Separable? | Sometimes |
MEANINGSÂ (click to jump to each one)
THE BASICS
Let's begin our exploration of the phrasal verb 'get around' by looking at the words 'get' and 'around' and what they mean on their own.
Firstly, we have the verb 'to get', which is a verb that strikes fear into the hearts of most English language learners as it has such a lot of uses and meanings. Its notable meanings include to receive, to fetch and to understand, as well as the meaning that is perhaps the most pertinent for the phrasal verb 'get around', which is to arrive at or reach a place...more of that to come later.
Next, we have the prepositional particle 'around', which does not feature in as many phrasal verb constructions as some of the others. The main idea of the particle 'around' is the opposite of the prepositional particle 'through', i.e. a movement along, or
following, the edge of something, rather than across the centre of it one from side to the other. This movement can either be directly on the edge of something....
I drew a line around my hand with a pencil.
Or it can be following the edge of something from a distance....
The moon moves around the Earth.
Alternatively, it can be used to describe positions on the edge of something, rather than a movement....
The people sat around the table for dinner.
Another meaning of 'around' that will be useful for the purposes of this post is to describe a movement from place to place within the confines of a specific area or place, e.g. a town or city, or country.
I drove around the area looking for a shop that was open.
We walked around the city centre and looked at all of the beautiful buildings.
One thing to note before we continue is that in British English, when 'around' is used in phrasal verb constructions, speakers often drop the 'a' at the beginning of the word and say 'round' instead, e.g. 'get round'. This alternative is considered acceptable in English, however it is quite informal, so should be avoided in formal communication and writing. Also, beware that if used in the wrong context, it could possibly cause confusion as 'round' as an adjective is used to describe something that is circular.
Ok, so now that we have covered the basics, let's move onto the different meanings of 'get around'....
MEANING 1: To move past an obstacle
CEFR Language Level | A2 - Elementary |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To move around, to get by, to get past, to go around |
Potential antonyms | To go through, to get through |
Separable? | No |
For our first meaning of 'get around', we are thinking about obstacles, obstructions and things that block our path. Imagine that you are driving along a road when suddenly you have to stop the car because a tree has fallen and is blocking the road, stopping you from
passing. The first thing that any driver would probably do in this situation is to check to see if there is any space at the side of the road where it is possible to pass the tree, or in other words, to get around the tree. That is because this first meaning is to physically move past an obstacle.
This application is really just the literal meaning of the words 'get' and 'around', as previously described in the last section; we have the idea of arriving at or reaching a specific point from the verb 'to get' and we have the idea of moving along the edge of something from the particle 'around'. The main idea of this usage is that you reach the other side of the obstruction by moving along it's edge, rather than through the centre of it.
Some nouns that are typically used with this are mountains, closed roads, cities but these could technically be any nouns that describe an obstacle.
Is there any way to get around this fallen tree without climbing over it?
The road was built to enable people to get around the mountain more easily.
Despite many attempts, none of the walkers were able to get around the boulder that had landed on the path.
As stated in the table above, one of the synonyms of 'get around' is 'go around', however you should be aware that 'go around' is used to emphasise the movement around the obstruction, while the focus of 'get around' is on reaching the the destination on the other side of it. Moreover, 'get around' tends to be used when there are problems or difficulties with the movement or if it was not possible, whilst 'go around' tends to be used when it is easy and problem free.
MEANING 2: To overcome a problem
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To overcome, to deal with, to circumvent |
Separable? | No |
In the last section, we looked at physical movement around an obstruction that is blocking our way and now for this second usage, we are going to turn our attention towards a different, more abstract type of obstacle. One unfortunate and unavoidable aspect of the human condition is that we always encounter problems and issues, especially when we are trying to do things, and this is where this second meaning of 'get around' comes in, as it means to overcome a problem or issue.
While we do use 'get around' to talk about being faced with a problem and finding a solution to it, I think that it tends to be used more in the sense of finding a way to avoid a problem or issue, rather than directly addressing it. In other words, like with our fallen tree, we use it to express a way of moving around the figurative problem.
This is going to be an issue for us. How are we going to get around it?
We spoke to the customer and explained our situation and I think that we have managed to get around the problem.
The political party is still looking for a way to get around this issue.
In the modern world, in particular the business world, there are (for good reason) a huge number of laws and regulations in place that exist to help and protect us. However, these same rules and regulations can equally pose challenges when they hinder or prevent us from performing necessary tasks and achieving the objectives that we want to achieve.
If you are lucky enough to know someone who works as a lawyer or who has a good understanding of these laws, then it may be possible to circumvent these unwanted rules and achieve the desired objective, or in other words 'get around' the rules. In this way, 'get around' can be used to mean finding a way to do something prohibited or unlawful in a legal or acceptable way that does not break a law or rule...useful huh?!
We thought that we would have to give up on the project due the new legislation that the government has brought in, however our lawyer was able to get around it.
Don't worry about this, I think that there is a way of getting around it without actually breaking the law.
MEANING 3: To persuade someone to do something
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Mainly American English |
Potential synonyms | To persuade, to convince |
Separable? | No |
So in the last two sections, we have considered obstacles of both a physical and an abstract nature and now for this third meaning, our obstacle takes human form. This usage of 'get around', specifically 'to get around someone', means to convince or persuade someone to do what you want.
The action of 'getting around someone' is usually carried out by another person and tactics of this persuasion normally consist of doing something nice for the person who you want to get around, giving them compliments and flattering them. It is also completely possible for us to use this with pets such as cats or dogs, who tend to use less subtle techniques of persuasion.
You may be able to get around your father by smiling sweetly, but you will not get around me so easily!
My boss is ok with the idea of letting us finish earlier on Fridays but we just have to get around the director now.
There is no point trying to get around my sister on this. If she doesn't gain anything from it, she won't agree.
MEANING 4: To go to a lot of places
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To travel, to get about |
Separable? | No |
For the next meaning of 'get around', let's forget the idea of obstacles and obstructions and move on, coincidentally, to travel as this one means 'to go to a lot of places'.
At the very heart of this fourth application is movement and this goes back to one of the meanings of 'around' that I mentioned in the Basics section at the start of the article, which is to move from place to place within a specific area.
First of all, let's imagine that the specific area that we are talking about is a city. If you get around a city, it generally means that you go from place to place within a city's boundaries, so this could be from your house to the cathedral and then to the city hall or to the park. Moreover, this could be by car, by public transport or even on foot. This could be in one specific day or it could be over a week or the entire time that you live in the city. The central idea of getting around is general movement from place to place within the city.
It is very easy for tourists to get around this city as the public transport links are so good.
How do you get around London if you don't have a car?
If we remove the idea of a city's boundaries, it is also possible to use 'get around' to talk about how a person travels from place to place in their general lives.
When I sold my car last year, I was worried about how I would get around without it but I've coped really well.
My mum is 88 years old and struggles to get around to the doctors or to the shops these days.
Now let's forget the limitations of our cities and daily lives and open up the boundaries to include the whole world. If you are a frequent traveller and are lucky enough to visit many different areas, regions, countries or continents on a regular basis, then it may be said that you 'get around'. You should note that this last 'worldwide' usage is quite informal.
Italy last week, Germany this week and New York next month! Wow you really get around, John!
Jane is a Director for an international conglomerate and is always flying off to visit different offices around the globe. She gets around!
MEANING 5: To do something that you have postponed
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Separable? | No |
We have now reached the last meaning of 'get around' and as it happens the meaning of this fifth and final usage is 'to do something that you have postponed or put off'.
For this application of 'get around' we require the additional preposition 'to', giving us the following construction....
to get around to (doing) something
This usage will be a particularly useful one for you if you are a busy person with lots of things to do in your life; it is certainly one that I use all the time! Typically, it is used in situations where people have lots of things to do, e.g. a full email inbox at work, reports to write, projects to work on and statistics to analyse...you get the idea! In these hectic situations when you have too much work to do, you will have to tell people that you will do specific tasks when you get a chance or when you get around to it. That means that you don't have time to do it now, but you will do it at a later point in time when you have the time or when the more important tasks have been done.
Alternatively, it is also very common in very busy times that you haven't got around to doing something yet and this will ofter infer to the person that you are talking to that you are busy and have not had the chance.
As you may have noticed from the examples provided, 'get around to' is usually followed by a gerund ('ing) or by a noun e.g. the job or the task.
I'm really busy at the moment but I will try and get around to looking at the report before I go home.
Kate finally got around to sending out thank you cards a couple of weeks after her birthday party.
When do you think you will be get around to doing it?
Ok, I'll do it this week if I get around to it but I can't promise anything!
IDIOM ALERT
Before I end the post, there is a really common idiom featuring 'get around' that you should be aware of and this is 'to get your head around something'.
'To get your head around something' means to understand or grasp something, such as a new idea, concept or theory. Likewise, you may say that 'you can't get your head around something' when you don't understand it or you find something difficult to comprehend.
I can't get my head around these figures. Please could you take a look and let me know.
I finally managed to get my head around this theory after reading the article several times.
Sarah just couldn't get her head around why anybody would want to threaten her. She had no enemies and everybody liked her.
Sadly, this brings us to the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'get around'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
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