An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get at', with lots of examples in context
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Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them.
In this post, I am returning to another phrasal verb featuring the verb 'to get', which I know from my students is a nightmare verb for English learners. The phrasal verb 'get at' is a fairly common construction in English with at least 5 different meanings and uses, which range from physically reaching something to illegally influencing someone. In this post, I will explain these different meanings for you and give you lots of examples of each one in context to help you understand them and learn when to use them. So, without further ado, let's get started. Don't forget to leave a comment with your own sentence featuring 'get at' at the end 😊
GET AT: KEY INFORMATION For more explanation of the terms in the table, click here
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 5 |
Past tense forms | Got at - Got / gotten at |
Separable? | No |
MEANINGS (Click to jump to each one)
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THE BASICS
As usual, let's begin our linguistic exploration by first analysing the meanings of the individual words that make up our chosen phrasal verb, in this case 'get' and 'at'.
The verb 'to get' is one that needs no introduction as it is extremely common in English, with a large variety of different meanings and functions. As I've stated in previous posts, the verb 'to get' is a firm favourite amongst English native speakers as it is nice and short, so we can easily use it in place of some longer synonyms such as 'to understand', 'to receive', 'to become' and 'to obtain'.
I don't get what you mean. Please can you explain.
Helen got a new car for her birthday
It gets cold in here during the winter.
Like 'to get', the prepositional particle 'at' is very common in English but it is not so prevalent in phrasal verbs. When used as a preposition, 'at' primarily functions to indicate specific locations and times, e.g. 'at home' or 'at 5 'o'clock', but can also be used to specify activities and directions towards targets e.g. "he is good at English" or "he threw the ball at me". When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'at' may function to indicate focus or attention towards something and often also adds some context about direction or intention to the main verb.
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'get at'....
MEANING 1: To reach something
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CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To reach, to obtain, to access, to gain access to |
Separable? | No |
The first meaning of 'get at' that we will look at in this post is 'to reach something' and is normally used for things that are difficult to access in some way.
Before continuing, I should point out that this meaning is all to do with physically reaching or touching something, rather than reaching a goal or target in the more abstract sense.
Firstly, if we consider the main verb 'to get', we find that one of its many meanings is 'to obtain something'. When we combine this with the particle 'at' to denote a specific location, we arrive at the idea of obtaining something that is in a specific place.
Furthermore, we often use the verb 'to get' when the action that we are trying to do is difficult or impossible (in the negative sense) and this idea of challenge or impossibility is carried across to this first use of 'get at'. So, to recap, we now have the main idea of trying to obtain something that is in a place that is hard to reach or access.
This application is therefore frequently used for items that are hidden or locked away, items that are placed in a high position and out of our reach and items that are difficult to physically access and touch with our hands, perhaps because they are inside a small space. This is not limited to just these three examples though and 'get at' can be used for anything that is tough to reach or access.
John dropped his wedding ring down the sink and it got stuck in a place where he could not get at it with his hands.
I have to store my cats food in a closed cupboard to stop them getting at it.
Lisa did not want her children playing with their phones anymore, so she put them on a high shelf where they weren't able to get at them.
MEANING 2: To discover information
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CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | American English |
Potential synonyms | To find out, to get to |
Separable? | No |
The second meaning of 'get at' is really a continuation of the previous meaning and is 'to discover information'.
In the last section, I explained how 'get at' is used to talk about physically obtaining or accessing something but for this usage we are concerned more with obtaining information, particularly when it is not easy to acquire. Most commonly, this application is used with the noun 'truth', typically in situations in which the reality of something is unknown and we need to do some investigation work to discover what it is. Again, as with the first meaning of 'get at', the idea of difficulty is implied from the verb 'to get'. In addition to the truth, other nouns that you may hear this being used with are 'cause', 'solution' and 'root'.
After a long period of questioning, the police finally got at the truth.
Do you think we will ever get at the root of this problem?
Susan and her team think that they have gotten at the solution to the IT issue.
As a native British speaker, this application sounds quite American to me and in many cases, in British English, we would probably use 'get to' as an alternative here.
MEANING 3: To imply something
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CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To imply, to suggest, to mean |
Separable? | No |
Our third meaning of 'get at' is 'to imply something', or in other words, 'to communicate something without directly expressing it'.
This application is a great one to use for situations in which a person is being vague and unclear during a conversation and you do not understand the message that they are conveying. This may be because the person is just not being clear enough, however more often than not, it is when the speaker is saying something in a subtle way that only certain people in the group will understand. This can often be something unpleasant or a criticism of some sort that the unclear person does not want to say openly.
Consequently, in response to this unclear speech, it is common to ask "what are you getting at?" when you want to invite the other person to clarify and state explicitly what they mean.
On a grammatical level, when we use this application of 'get at', we often do not require a noun following the word 'at', especially when it is in a question.
Did you understand what Peter was saying in the meeting? I'm not sure what he was getting at.
What are you getting at, Debbie? Just come out and say it!
I think that the point that you are trying to get at is that you think we should work fewer hours. Is that correct?
MEANING 4: To repeatedly criticise someone
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CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Mainly British English |
Potential synonyms | To criticise, to tease |
Separable? | No |
We now move on to the last two meanings of 'get at', both of which are quite negative in nature. The first of these two negative meanings is 'to repeatedly criticise someone'.
This is primarily a British meaning, so it is one that I am very used to hearing, however I am sure that if used in conversation with someone who speaks a different variation of English, the other person would have no problems understanding it.
To reiterate what I said at the beginning, if someone is getting at you, it means that they are persistently critical of you or, alternatively, continually tease or bully you in an unkind manner. Moreover, it could also be used when someone intentionally annoys or irritates you. The main idea is that it happens regularly or often and that the recipient of the activity does not enjoy or appreciate it!
From a grammatical perspective, this application is often (but not always) formed using progressive ('ing) tenses.
My boss keeps getting at me and I don't know what to do about it.
Some of my son's classmates are always getting at him because he is overweight.
Why are you getting at me today? Have I done something to you?
MEANING 5: To illegally influence someone
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CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To influence, to sway |
Separable? | No |
We have now come to the fifth and final meaning of 'get at', which as I wrote before, is another negative one, and means 'to illegally influence someone'.
This is a rare usage that you are unlikely to hear very often but you never know when it may appear, so it is always best to learn it just in case! The reason that this meaning is so rare is because it is only used in specific circumstances, typically involving criminals and the justice system. In this sense, if you get at someone, it means that you attempt to influence somebody who is involved in a court case to ensure that the outcome of the trial is the one that you want. This is usually done by offering them money (bribery) or by threatening them or their family. As you can imagine, this action is only effective for people who can actually change the outcome of a trial and so therefore this is a very limited number of individuals such as a judge or a jury member.
Aside from the court system, it is also possible to hear this usage in reference to decision making at a high level in business or in government. Again, this is a rare usage.
Regardless of who or what though, this action is corrupt and illegal, so it may be that you only ever come across this on English-language TV series or in movies.
The criminal gang tried to get at the judge before the trial but they were unsuccessful.
A few of the board member were got at and changed the way that they voted due to intimidation.
We need to get at the witness before the trial to make sure that he does not say anything about us.
One of the key reasons that the Prime Minister has security guards 24/7 is to stop people getting at him to influence his policy making and decisions.
IDIOM ALERT
There is one final idiomatic expression that I want to make you aware of before I finish the post and that is 'to get at it'. This is a nice and simple saying that means 'to start doing something' and is used predominantly in reference to work. This idiom is more common in American English but would be understood by non-American English speakers too.
We have a lot to do today, so let's get at it.
We had better get at it if we want to finish in time for the game later.
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We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on it and reading it. I hope that you found it useful and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'get at'. 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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THE END
Thank you for your post that let me get at new phrasal verbs! I am learning a lot every week.