Hi there. This is Harry and welcome back to advanced English lessons with Harry,
where we try to help you to get a better understanding of the English language,
whether you're preparing for all important job interviews or indeed some proficiency exams,
whatever it is, we're here to help you. And today's Advanced English Lessons,
looking at expressions of idioms with the verb get so idioms with the verb get.
So I've got ten of them as usual. I'll go through them. I'll give you some examples.
And as always, at the end, if you need to contact me, I'll give the address for contact purposes.
Okay, let's get on. So the first one is get real. Okay. And so this is quite a
modern interpretation of the idiom. Get real. So somebody uses that when they're telling somebody
to wise up or to to get into the real world or not to be living in a fantasy. So you might be
talking to your friend. He says, you know, it would be a great idea if I won the lotto.
You know, I'd retire, I'd stop working and I'd buy that car. I always wanted luxury holidays,
whatever. And these. Francis Ah, come on, get real. You don't even buy a
lotto ticket. So to get real means come back to reality. Wake up and smell the
coffee. Somebody say says so to get real, think and be and live in the real world.
Get real. Second one is get a life. Now we use this expression
when somebody perhaps is a workaholic or they spend all of that time doing things
Others of us might think are a little bit unusual or a little bit strange. So
he really needs to get a life. He gets up in the morning really early. He starts working,
he goes to the office, he comes home at eight or nine at night and then quick bite to eat. I need
to do some other work or he's always on the phone to somebody connected with work.
He really needs to get a life, meaning he has to get some balance in his life.
So if somebody is always complaining about something, no matter what happens,
whatever the government says, they complain. Whatever the neighbours do,
they complain. Whatever is happening in the local district. It's not good enough. Somebody says,
Ah, just get a life. Stop complaining. Just get on with it like the rest of us. So to get life,
meaning you do what everybody else does.
We just put up with whatever has to happen. We can't change it.
So we try to live and have a good, happy, balanced life. Get a life.
Okay, Now get your act together as the next one. Okay. So when somebody is perhaps going off the
rails a little bit, which means that they're not really focusing on what they should do,
perhaps they are not focusing on their studies, They're not focusing on their family. They're not
focusing on anything really. So somebody said, look, you really need to get your act together.
If you don't do something, somebody else will do something. So, for example,
if you're late continuously for work or you're leaving the office early and you think nobody
notices or you know your work isn't up to scratch, one of your colleagues might pull
you aside in the coffee break and say, Look, I think you really need to get your act together.
I've heard rumours from the manager that he's noticed what you're doing,
your part-time keeping. So if you don't do something, they'll sack you or something will
happen. So you need to get your act together or a son or daughter who's not really studying so hard,
spending a lot of time out at nightclubs, as we say in English, burning the candle at both ends.
They really need to get their act together because in the last year or two years of university,
that's when it really counts. And that's going to make the difference
between a really good degree and an average degree, and that might
impact on their ability to get a job. So you tell them kindly and nicely as a parent would like,
get your act together and pull your socks up and make sure that you work hard.
Okay? Get your act together
Next is to get on someone's nerves. Well, this happens to all of us from
time to time. Somebody does something that just really annoys us. It might
not deny us all the time, but a day when we're not feeling so good or we're not, as
you're up
bright and early and we're not really feeling the best and some
little habit somebody has gets on our nerves, it really annoys you.
So somebody sitting beside you in the office who's continuously tapping his
fingers on the table, that will get on your nerves. Somebody who continuously
coughs all the time that would get on your nerves,
somebody who has just little irritating habits. They tend to get on your nerves. So, you know,
you might actually turn around and say, Look, that's really getting on my nerves.
Could you please stop? So you use the expression or you go home or that guy is
really getting on my nerves. I really wish he would move to another office. You know,
he's constantly, constantly at talking out loud, constantly
chatting on his mobile phone. It's really getting on my nerves. So to get
on somebody's nerves is to irritate them, to annoy them with some regular habit.
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Next to get on like a house on fire. When I explain this to students,
it's always quite amusing because your house on fire is not a good thing. You know,
a house on fire is very dangerous, particularly if there's anybody in
at the time. But when people get on like a house and fire,
it means they get together and they find a good connection with each other very, very quickly.
So when a house goes on fire, it usually goes up, as they say, very quickly. So
start with a small flame. And then because wood and other
material in the house. The house will
go ablaze very, very quickly. So if you meet somebody for the first time and you
really have a good relationship with them in a very short period of time,
you will say to your friends, Yeah, we get on like a house on fire. He's really funny,
he's smart, he's intelligent. We have the same sense of humour.
We support the same football team. We like the same things. Yeah, we get it. We get on like a
house on fire. Meaning we get on very, very well. Really, from the very start. Or using
another English expression from the get-go from the very beginning. No, no problems, no
sort of awkward moments. We just get on like a house on fire
Next to get the message. Okay. Well, literally, to get the message is to receive something,
an email or in the old-fashioned way, a letter. Okay. But when we get the message,
what it means is we understand what somebody is trying to tell you. So your boss is trying to
tell you in a subtle way that he really wants you to work a little bit harder.
He really wants you to get that finger out. He really wants this contract to
be won. He really wants the documents to be finished by a certain date. You say,
Okay, okay, I get the message. I understand. Yeah, I'll have it done. It'll be on your
desk. No problems. I know exactly what's needed. It'll be all prepared. Ready?
There won't be any problem. So you finally get the message. Okay. Or with a son or
daughter who have been causing some problems by not being so attentive at school. A couple
of notes from the teachers. Homework not done. So after a couple of really serious situations
and you've talked to him or her and you've told them what's necessary, you notice an improvement
and you can say to your partner, Well, I think he or she finally got the message.
They finally understand that this is serious and life is serious,
and they have to stop all this messing about to get the message.
Get your own way. Well, we all like to feel that we get our own way from
time to time. Unfortunately, it doesn't always happen. To get your own way means
that things are done the way you want them done. that little fella. He's so
spoiled. His parents give him anything he wants. He just has to mourn a little bit.
And he gets that new mobile phone more than a little bit more. He gets the new bike. He
always gets his own way. Meaning he gets what he wants so he knows exactly which
strings to pull with the parents that will really get their attention. He's
an only child and as a result, they pour everything they have into him.
So he gets his own way, or the brother or sister who are a little bit annoyed
that their other brother and sister always seem to do better
from the parents than they do. Why is it that Michael always gets his own way?
When he wanted his own bedroom, he got it. When he wanted a mobile phone, he got it.
I have to work a bit harder. I have to promise to do this. I have
to promise to do that. So all of these petty jealousies that exist between siblings. Okay,
so but he always gets his own way. Why is that the case? So and the answer from the
parents are usually you're older, you should understand better. You know, what happens.
So the oldest child always suffers and the second or the youngest child is the one that
usually gets all the benefits, the softer treatment. So to get his or her own way,
get a grip. Well, when we literally get a grip, we grab something. But when we
use the expression get a grip means to take control. Okay, Don't lose it.
Okay. So somebody could be ranting and raving. I don't know about this. This is terrible. And
they go on and on and on. And somebody says, Listen, come on,
get a grip. You lose in a choke. You're going to have a breakdown. Okay. Things have gone a
little bit badly recently. Something's happened. Is not quite the way you want it, but get a grip.
Yeah. There's no nobody dying. Yeah, it's just you need just to take things
easy. You need to take a little bit of control. So when you take control,
you get a grip of the situation. You get everything back under control,
and everything can be plain sailing going forward. Okay, So get a grip is the expression we use when
we feel somebody is losing control, when we feel somebody doesn't really know what is
needed or they're just panicking or they get an overly excited, okay, come on, just get a grip.
Don't be so excited. Okay. So the son comes
home from school and he's shouting and screaming because the teacher
told him off in front of the class. He was really embarrassed. His homework wasn't up
to scratch. So he's really in a state. You say, okay, look, calm down, get a grip. Just tell me
what happened. If you want me to go and talk to the teacher, I'll go and talk to the teacher.
But just deep breaths. Take it easy and let me know what happened. So get a grip
To get the hang of something. Well, when we get the hang of something, we eventually learn how
to use or how to do something. Okay. So for many, many years, I was very, very poor with technology.
I wasn't really certain as to what it was all about, how I did this. And I was often afraid to
click on any sort of button in case everything fell apart or even disappeared or there.
Letters or e-mails that I had written would just suddenly
disappear somewhere. So eventually, eventually, with a little bit of
coaxing and a little bit of reading and a little bit of practice, I became better
and better. Now I consider myself quite adept at using technology. So eventually,
eventually I got the hang of it. Okay, So when you get the hang of something, you know what to do.
You know how to use it, You know how to use it better. Or if you've taken up a new sport,
you know, might be one of these extreme sports hang gliding or kayaking action.
After a couple of sessions, after a couple of outings, you'll get the hang of it. You know,
you just have to have some patience. You have to watch what other people do.
Do a bit of practice. Okay. You might make a few mistakes, but eventually,
you'll get the hang of it. So getting the hang of something means to understand how to use it,
understand what to do, understand how something works. And then after that,
get plain sailing. So to get the hang of it, understand how it works.
Get something off your chest. This is the last one. Number ten. Get something off your chest.
But when you want to get something off your chest, it's something that's been building up
for a while. Something that's annoying you, something that's frustrating you,
something that you feel needs to be said. So you might have one of those grumpy faces and
somebody looks at you who really knows you well and they say, okay, come on.
I can see from the look on your face you need to get something off your chest. What
is it? Let me have it. So you unload all that frustration. You unload all that annoyance,
and you tell that person nearest and dearest to you exactly what it is that's on your mind,
or in this case, on your chest. So you get it off your chest and when you finish it.
that was great. I really felt relieved to get that off my chest. Okay, so when you get something off
your chest, you pass it on to somebody else, you discuss it, you find out that perhaps it's not
really the problem that it was. You built it up to be something bigger, something greater.
And in reality, when you discuss it with your partner, your friend, whoever that might be,
you realise and they realise with a bit of talking to you that it's not really as bad as it seems.
Okay, so to get something off your chest, share a problem
shared is a problem halved. Okay, so share it. Don't keep it to you yourself
because it'll just cause frustration and anxiety. So get something off your chest.
Okay, so this is the advanced English language with idioms about get the
written and told I'm going to run through them very quickly for you.
Get real. Get a life. Get your act together. Get on someone's nerves. Get on like a house on fire.
Get the message. Get your own way.
Get a grip, get a hang of something. And then finally, to get something off your chest.
So you've
had them. You've. I've explained them. I've given you the examples. So you need to practice. You
know the drill by now. You practice them if you can introduce them or some of them into your
speech, well then you'll get to use and understand them a lot better. If you need other examples,
you come back to me www.englishlessonviaskype.com and I try to help you a little bit further.
As always, I really appreciate you watching and listening and see you again soon.