go ... -ing

We often use the structure go .. . -ing, especially to talk about sports and free-time activities.

• Let's go climbing next weekend.
  


• Did you go dancing last Saturday?

• go climbing


• go hunting


• go shooting


• go swimming


• go dancing


• go riding


• go shopping


• go walking


• go fishing


• go sailing


• go skiing

get:noun, adjective, adverb particle or preposition;object, verb-form

A. get + noun, adjective, adverb particle or preposition

Get is a very common word in spoken English.
It is usually informal, and structures with get are not so common in writing.

Get has different meanings — it depends what kind of word comes after it.

1 get + noun/pronoun

Before a noun or pronoun, get usually means 'receive', 'fetch', 'obtain' or something similar.

• I got a letter from Lucy this morning.


• Can you come and get me from the station when I arrive?


• I'm going out to get some bread

2 get + adjective

Before an adjective, gef usually means 'become'.

• As you get old your memory gets worse.


• My feet are getting cold.

We can use   get + object + adjective ( = 'make something become ...').

• I can f get my hands warm


• We must get the house clean before Mother arrives.

3   get + adverb particle or preposition

Before an adverb particle (like up, away, out) or a preposition, get nearly always refers to a movement.

• I often get up at five o 'clock.


• I went to see him, but he told me to get out


• Would you mind getting off my foot?

We can use the structure with an object, to talk about making somebody/ something move.

• You can't get her out of the bathroom in the morning.


• Would you mind getting your papers off my desk?


• Have you ever tried to get toothpaste back into the tube?

B.  get (+ object) + verb-form

1 After get, we can use an object with an infinitive or -ing form.

get + object + infinitive

• I can't get the car to start

get + object + -ing form

• Don t get him talking about his illnesses, please.

We often use the structure with the infinitive to talk about persuading somebody to do something.

• Get John to help us, if you can.
  


• I can't get that child to go to bed.

We can use get + object + past participle with a passive meaning to talk about arranging for jobs to be done.

• I must get my hair cut


• You ought to get your watch repaired

We can use get instead of be to make passive structures.
We often do this when we are talking about things that happen by accident or unexpectedly.

• My watch got broken while I was playing with the children.


• He got caught by the police driving at 160km an hour.

Gender (masculine and feminine language)

English does not have many problems of grammatical gender: people are he or she and things are it.

1   Animals, cars and countries

People sometimes call animals he or she, especially pet animals like cats, dogs and horses.

• Go and find the cat and put him out.

Some people use she for cars, motorbikes etc; sailors often use she for boats and ships.

• 'How's your new car?' 'Terrific. She's running beautifully.'

We can use she for countries, but it is more common.

• He loves Spain — its culture, its history and its civilization.
  (OR . . . her culture, her history . . .)

2 he or she

We can use he or she; him or her; his or her to refer to people like a student or a politician (who can be men or women).

• If a student is ill, he or she must send his or her medical certificate to the College Office.
  

This is heavy, and most people use he/him/his instead of he or she etc.

• A politician has to do what his party tells him

After anybody, somebody, nobody and some other expressions, we often use they/them/their (with a singular meaning) instead of he or she .

• If anybody phones, tell them I'm out.

3 actor and actress


Some jobs and positions have different words for men and women.

Man actor duke bridegroom
Woman actress    duchess   bride

Man host    monk   prince
Woman hostess     nun princess

Man steward waiter widower
Woman stewardess waitress widow

Some words ending in -man have a feminine form

• policeman/policewoman.

Others do not:

• the chairman of a committee can be a man or a woman.

Many people prefer to use words ending in -person for these cases

• chairperson, spokesperson

come and go

1 We use come for movements to the place where the speaker or hearer is.

We use go for movements to other places.

• 'Maria, would you come here, please?' 'I'm coming '(NOT. . . I'm going.')


• When did you come to live here?


• Can I come and sit on your lap?


• I want to go and live in Greece.
  


• Let's go and see Peter and Diane.
  


• In 1577, he went to study in Rome.

2 We can use come for a movement to a place where the speaker or listener was or will be. Compare:

• What time did I come to see you in the office yesterday? About ten, was it?


• I went to your office yesterday, but you weren't in.


• Will you come and visit me in hospital?
  


• He's going into hospital next week.