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Here's the sentence I get mixed up.

Until a year ago, I never got around to meeting the people.

I'd like to know if this means "I couldn't meet the people because I don't have enough time or something" or "I didn't want to meet the people"

I'd like to know what "get around to" implies

2 Answers 2

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It means "I didn't make it happen", with an implication that I intended to, or wanted to, but there was some obstacle. It is not specific about what kind of obstacle that was - whether it was my busyness, my mental state, obstructions from outside, or something else.

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The short answer to your question is "yes". (In other words, both of the meanings you supply are valid ways to interpret the sentence.)

A little more context would clarify. Consider:

Until a year ago, I never got around to meeting the people. I was too busy.

Until a year ago, I never got around to meeting the people. I was too shy.

Now the reasons are a little more clear.

Note: Unless you were referring to some specific group of people, there's a good chance I would leave out the word the before people:

Until a year ago, I never got around to meeting people.

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  • Oh, thank you. I got it. then Can I use like the followings? "Until a year ago, I was so shy I didn't get around to meeting people" or "Until a year ago, I was too busy I couldn't get around to meeting people"
    – jihoon
    Commented Jan 25, 2016 at 12:55
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    I'd word those like this: Until a year ago, I was too shy to get around to meeting people. Or perhaps even more simply" Until a year ago, I was too shy to meet people. You really don't need the "get around to" when it's worded like that – it's clunky.
    – J.R.
    Commented Jan 25, 2016 at 12:57

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