An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context.
This is the second of two parts....for the first part click here.
Hello and welcome to this instalment of Phrasal Verbs Explained; a blog which aims to help you understand English phrasal verbs in a clear and coherent way, so that you can use them to improve your English and sound more like a native speaker.
This week's post is the second part of my focus on the phrasal verb 'get off', which has so many meanings that it wasn't possible (or fair) to list them all on one blog post. So to recap, in part one, posted last week, we looked at the two literal forms of 'get off', plus the meanings of to leave, to finish work, to have time off from work and to receive a less severe punishment than expected. With all that in mind, let's now take a look at the other meanings of 'get off'....
Please like and share the post if you find the article useful (I won't know otherwise)! Also, feel free to leave a comment at the end with your own sentence featuring 'get off' 😊
GET OFF: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 11 (sorry) |
Literal meaning | Yes |
Idiomatic meaning | Yes |
Separable? | Yes |
Past forms | Got / gotten Got / gotten |
British or American? | Both |
For more explanation of the terms in the table above, click here
MEANING 7: To fall asleep (idiomatic)
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Moderate |
Separable | Yes |
Potential synonyms | To fall asleep, to drift off |
So we are going to start today's post with our seventh meaning of 'get off', which means to fall asleep, normally after finding it difficult to do so.
It is often used by frustrated and tired English speakers when they did not have much sleep the night before because it took them a long time to 'get off to sleep'. It is not always used in a negative way however and could also be used to say that we fell asleep immediately or in the same way that we usually do.
You may also be familiar with the expression 'to get to sleep', which is also commonly used by native speakers and means the same thing. There is no difference in the meaning here that I can tell; I just think that 'get off to sleep' sounds a little nicer.
I didn't get to sleep until about midnight last night!
It is also possible to use a direct object here when talking about making another person go to sleep (through comfort and not boredom). As you can probably imagine from the context, this is normally used by adults referring to babies and small children.
It took me so long to get off to sleep last night. I am absolutely shattered* today!
She was so tired that she got off to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Lisa tried all night to get her daughter off to sleep but nothing worked.
* Shattered is an informal adjective meaning very tired or exhausted.
MEANING 8 : To send something
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Moderate |
Separable | Yes |
Potential synonyms | To send, to send off, to despatch |
Ok, so now we are on to meaning eight of the phrasal verb 'get off'. As you can see, it is very versatile and has a large number of different uses, so I hope you are keeping up 🤪.
This eighth meaning of 'get off' means to send something and this is normally in reference to an email, parcel or a letter in the post. This usage is a little informal, however it is still fine to use in a professional work environment, apart from perhaps official documentation and legal documents. Another similar phrasal verb that could be used as an interchangeable synonym here is 'send off', with no real change in meaning.
For this usage, we usually also need to add the extra preposition 'to' and the name of the recipient.
I have written the email and will get it off to my manager shortly.
We have got a birthday card off to him in the post, so he should receive it in the next couple of days.
MEANING 9: To enjoy something intensely
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Moderate |
Separable | No |
Potential synonyms | To get a kick out of, to enjoy (a lot), to be excited by something |
For our ninth usage, we need to add the additional preposition 'on', to give us 'to get off on something', which means to enjoy something intensely. This is an informal way of describing when people get an element of excitement or a buzz from doing something and can often be used for something sexual in nature.
We also use it to talk about criminals' enjoyment of the crimes that they commit, bosses and senior employees in companies who enjoy the power that they have or also when someone enjoys a type of drug or natural high. The main idea behind this usage however, is that the enjoyment experienced by the person is intense.
My friend gets off on true crime podcasts. He really loves them.
Lisa's boss loves the power of his position; he really gets off on it.
MEANING 10: To French kiss someone (idiomatic)
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Separable | No |
Potential synonyms | To kiss, to make out |
Ok bear with me, we are nearly there now...
For the tenth meaning on our whistle-stop tour* of the phrasal verb 'get off', we are looking at a usage which is particular to British English and means to French kiss someone i.e. to kiss someone using tongues in a romantic or sexual way. This would be the equivalent of 'make out' in American English. For this usage, the additional preposition 'with' is required in order to say who the amorous person was kissing.
From my experience, this is mainly used by teenagers and young adults and is not something that you are likely to hear often, so let's move on to the final meaning of 'get off'.
*A whistle-stop tour is a tour on which someone visits many different places in a short period
MEANING 11: To be given something by someone
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper Intermediate |
Usage | Moderate |
Separable | Yes |
Potential synonyms | To take, to fetch, to receive |
So, now we come to the last meaning of 'get off' that we are going to look at on this blog post....give yourselves a pat on the back for coming this far! Only one more to go!
We use this final meaning of 'get off' to express when a person gives us something or when we receive something from another person. It is also possible to use it when we take something from someone, however this is only with their consent and would not normally be used to talk about stealing something from them.
A direct object is required here to express the item that we are getting or receiving and this needs to go between 'get' and 'off'. This could be something that somebody gives us, like a birthday present or alternatively it could be something that we need to get from somebody else for a work purpose.
This form is an alternative (and perhaps more informal) form of to get something from someone.
I got some lovely birthday presents off my parents this year.
John: Where did you get that cake? Lisa: I got it off Helen, she has brought some homemade cakes into the office today.
Can you go and get the signed report off the CEO before you leave today, please.
SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE: TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF HOW 'GET OFF' IS USED BY NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS.
Memorise and use the sentences below in conversations to help your English come across as more natural and fluent....
It took me so long to get off to sleep last night!
No matter what I try, I just can't seem to get off to sleep.
I will get this off to you straight away!
Can you get this [letter / email] off to [person] as soon as possible.
[person] really gets off on [noun]!
Can you go and get the [noun] off [person].
I got a [noun] off [person] for my birthday.
EXTRA INFORMATION TO SOUND LIKE A NATIVE
Before finishing the post, I just want to make you aware of another couple of common expressions that native speakers often use with 'get off'....
To get off to a good / bad start = This expression is used all the time by native speakers to say if something has started well or badly. Other adjectives to mean good or bad are also perfectly acceptable to use here.
The English football team got off to a good start in the World Cup but then crashed out in the semi finals.
My day got off to a really bad start when my alarm did not go off and I overslept!
To get off the subject = To start talking about discussing things during a conversation which are not relevant to the main subject being discussed. It is also possible to use the alternative "to get off topic", which means the same.
We started talking about the current political situation but somehow we got off the subject and ended up talking about online videos.
We seem to have gotten off topic, can we get back to the subject at hand please!
Where do you get off? = This is an idiomatic expression that native speakers use when they want to express to someone that they feel that they are being rude, impolite or patronising towards them. In other words, what gives you the right to treat me like that? This idiom is often followed by the verb in the continuous form.
Where do you get off talking to me like that?!
Where does she get off trying to tell us what to do! She is not our manager!
We have now reached 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. 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 off'. 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!!!
Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published.
Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊
THE END
thank you so much! This is the first passage I can finish reading since I decided to learn phrasal verbs! This is interesting and accessible to starters like me! Greeting from China!!