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Let's look at the following sentences.

I got bored while watching serials.

His father got him the mobile.

She got married to John.

Why does the verb 'get' occur in these sentences?

The first sentence can be written as:

I was bored while watching serials.

The second one can be written as:

His father gave him the mobile.

The third one can be written as:

She was married to John.

Then what the verb get doing here?

Please make me know each of the sentences with explanation.

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  • It is an idiomatic use of get. Get bored: Get meaning ‘become’ We commonly use get + adjective to mean ‘become’ or to describe a change of state or situation: - Put your coat and scarf on or you’ll get cold. Let’s hope she gets better soon. It’s getting dark.
    – user29952
    Jul 1, 2020 at 17:53
  • Get him a mobile: Get meaning ‘fetch’, ‘receive’, ‘obtain’ We commonly use get + object or get + indirect object + direct object when we mean, very generally, ‘fetch’ or ‘receive’ or ‘obtain’. When are you going to get your new car? *Can we stop here? I need to get Fiona and Steven some cash from the cash machine.
    – user29952
    Jul 1, 2020 at 17:56
  • Get married: to become joined in marriage They're planning to get married in October. - merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%20married
    – user29952
    Jul 1, 2020 at 17:58
  • @user070221 Those are good comments that would make a complete answer.
    – Katy
    Jul 1, 2020 at 20:03

2 Answers 2

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I was bored while watching the series.

At that time, you had that state. We have no idea when or why your boredom began, only that it overlapped your viewing of a television program. This might imply that you didn't pay much attention to the show because you were already bored.

I got bored while watching a series.

At that time, you acquired that state. Your boredom began during the show. This might imply that your boredom is the result of the show.

 

His father gave him the cell.

This has nothing to do with when his father acquired the phone. This action is the son's acquisition.

His father got him the cell.

This has little to do with when the son acquired the phone, or even whether he has. This action is the father's acquisition. It's possible that the father got the phone as a gift for his son, but the son doesn't have it yet.

 

She got married to John.

That implies a wedding. Marriages generally start with one.

She was married to John.

That might suggest a divorce. Without further context, it places the entire marriage in the past, not just its beginning.

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In each of these sentences, "got" is simply an informal way of communicating. "I got bored while watching serials" could be said like this: "I became bored while watching serials." "I was bored while watching serials" is grammatically correct, but it does not mean the same thing as "I got bored while watching serials." "I was bored while watching serials" means that you were bored while you were watching serials. "Got" in this sentence refers to becoming bored, not simply being bored. "I became bored while watching serials" is the proper and more formal way of saying "I got bored while watching serials," because it tells us that you were not bored when you started watching serials, but you found them boring after a little while.

"His father got him the mobile" is describing someone's father either giving or buying him a mobile phone. A more formal way of saying it would be "His father gave him the mobile," or "His father bought him the mobile." Both of these sentences are a more formal way of saying "His father got him the mobile."

"She got married to John" is referring to a person becoming married to someone else. In informal English, we often say that two people "get married" instead of "become married." For example, "Are you going to get married?" "Did Anna get married to Dave?" The more formal way to say these sentences would be "Are you going to marry?" and "Did Anna marry Dave?" You could also say "Are you going to become married?" and "Did Anna become married to Dave" although this doesn't sound as natural as the first example. Thus, "She got married to John" could be more formally said as "She became married to John" or "She married John."

In each of these sentences, the verb "get" is being used informally. You will often hear native English speakers use the verb "get" as a general substitute for longer, more formal verbs.

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