Verbs of

change and
movement

GRAMMAR

LEVEL NUMBER LANGUAGE

Intermediate B2_1012G_EN English
Goals

■ Review the difference

between the use of go and
get
■ Learn how to use become,
get and go to talk about
changes
■ Practise having
conversations to describe
change and movement

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 The word get and become are
sometimes interchangeable.

However, get has several different

meanings while become is normally
used to talk about changes.

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Changes and movement

■ In this lesson, you will learn the differences between the use of to get and to
become to describe change and movement.

Ever since I got the chance to meet my friend‘s uncle, who is a judge, I
have always wanted to become one.

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The verb become

■ The verb become can be used to talk about a change of a situation or a state.
■ When the verb become is followed by a noun, it describes change and
movement.
■ The verb become means to develop or to grow into.

■ I became the Chief Human

Resources Officer last week!

Not I got the Chief Human Resources

Officer last week.

He wasn‘t promoted until last week.

Now he is the Chief Human Resources
Officer.

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Get + noun vs become + noun

■ While become has just one meaning, the verb get has several different meanings.
■ For some things, get and become can be used interchangeably.
■ Get is more informal and more commonly used in speech.
■ Become is more formal and used in writing.
■ Become + noun and get + noun are different in meaning. See the examples
below:

Become + noun Get + noun

She became a lawyer. She got a lawyer.

They will become interns. They will get interns.

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The verb get with the meaning of become

■ When get is followed by an adjective, it has the same meaning as become.

■ Get + adjective can:
■ describe changes in emotion.
■ be used with comparatives. (not with become + adjective)
■ be in a progressive state when things are changing.
■ Note that: become + adjective means complete change.

■ How can I become/get better at speaking English?

■ The weather will start getting colder next week.

■ It got harder and harder to keep myself motivated at work.

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The verb get with the meaning of receive and buy

■ Depending on the context, the verb get can have the meaning of receive or buy.

Receive Buy

I’m interested in getting that new

I got this suit from my wife.
product.
Did you get the e-mail I sent you last We need to get new computers in this
night? office.
Will I get an invoice for this Where did you get those shoes? I really
purchase? like them.

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The verb get with the meaning of arrive and understand

■ Depending on the context, the verb get can have the meaning of arrive or
understand.

Arrive Understand

When did you get to work this I don’t get this paragraph. Can you explain
morning? it to me?
What time will we get to our final People don’t get why I love my job so
destination? much.
I don’t know how to get to the post
Did you get my joke?
office.

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Different in meaning

Sometimes get and become can be used interchangeably. Sometimes

they cannot! Compare the sentence pairs and discuss how they are
different in meaning.

1. He will become a professor in two 1. He will get to be a professor in two

years. years.

2. We have become the pioneers in 2. We have got the pioneers in this

this field. field.

3. I have to become a designer to 3. I have to get a designer to make

make my dream come true. my dream come true.

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Describe the pictures using the verbs to get and to become

A B

C D

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Get, become or both?

TO GET TO BECOME

1. I’m _______________ ing hungry. Let’s go and eat lunch.

2. I will be going to business school _______________ a

successful CEO.

3. Can you _______________ those documents from Sally?

4. How can I _______________ better at my job?

5. What do I have to do to _______________ a manager?

6. I can go on holiday when I _______________ my salary.

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Multiple choice. What is the meaning of the underlined
words in these contexts?

1. He doesn’t get why his boss is in such a bad mood.

a. receive b. buy c. arrive d. understand

2. We get our components delivered from our suppliers today.

a. receive b. buy c. arrive d. understand

3. I couldn’t get to the station on time so I had to take the next train.

a. receive b. buy c. arrive d. understand

4. We’re going to get new software.

a. receive b. buy c. arrive d. understand

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Get vs go for changes

■ Get
■ To reach, arrive at, or reach end of a journey.
■ is used with adjectives like dark, light, late, old, sick, tired.
■ Go
■ emphasises whole movement.
■ is used with adjectives like colours, words with negative associations.

Get Go
Buy a prepaid phone card when you I’m going to work so I will call you when I
get to Milan. get to my office.
I missed the bus and got to work He is only 25 years old but he is going
very late. bald.
We left the milk in the sun and it has gone
It is getting dark outside.
off.
We all got tired after the long You can tell it’s autumn; the leaves on the
meeting. trees are going red.

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Compare the difference

How are these sentences different in meaning?

Use your imagination to come up with what happened before and after
these sentences.

“ I got home at midnight. “

“ I went home at midnight. “
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Phrasal verbs with get

■ Below are some examples of when we would use phrasal verbs with get.
■ Go through each example with your teacher.
■ Can you think of any more?

Get phrasal verbs Meaning Example

To disembark a train, bus, We are getting off after

To get off
plane or ship this stop.
Everyone must wear a
To board a train, bus, plane
To get on seatbelt after getting on
or ship
a plane.
To enter a car, taxi, building We are running out of
To get in
or room time. Let’s get in the taxi.
She couldn’t get out of
To leave a car, taxi, building
To get out the building when the
or room
fire alarm went off.
He got out of doing his
To get out of To avoid doing something homework as he was ill
last night.

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 get/become
get used to
accustomed to

If you are used to something, you are accustomed to it so you don’t find it
unusual anymore.
Used to is informal while accustomed to is more formal.

I’m from a different region, but you will get used to the way I
talk.

It is going to take a while to become accustomed to living in a

foreign country.

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Fill in the blanks

1. Let’s get ready! We are getting _______________

at the next station.
2. I’m terribly tired because I got _______________
very early.
3. I bet you can get _______________ this new
software. It’s not really that different to the
old one.
4. Do you think he can get _______________ the
train by himself with four bags?
5. I got_______________ going to that terrible
party, thankfully!

Fill in the blanks with the correct prepositions.

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Making sentences

Practise making sentences with each of the below.

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Describing changes

For this activity, you should give three answers to each question below;
when you were young, now, and when you get old.

1
What is the most important thing in your
life?

2 What fears do you have?

3
What are your hobbies?

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 What is popular in your country?

■ Name one product that has

gained a lot of popularity
within a couple years in
your home country.

■ What was the cause of it

becoming popular and how
do people react to it?

■ Do you think it will still be

the same in the future?

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Your work graph

Depending on how much work you have,

how much sleep you get and if you have
any personal problems, your emotions
can change every day.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being happiest, describe how your emotions

can change throughout a week.
Try to use get and become in your sentences.

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Reflect on the goals

Go back to the second slide of the lesson and check

if you have achieved all the goals of the lesson.

yes no

_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________

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Reflect on this lesson

Think about everything you have seen in this lesson.

What were the most difficult activities or words? The easiest?

+ _______________________________
_______________________________

+ _______________________________
_______________________________

– _______________________________
_______________________________

– _______________________________
_______________________________
If you have time, go over
the most difficult slides again

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25 www.lingoda.com
Exercise p. 12
1. get, 2. become, 3. get, 4. get/become 5. become, 6. get
Exercise p. 13
1. d, 2. a, 3. c, 4. b
Exercise p. 18
1. off, 2. up, 3. of 4. on, 5. on
Answer key
Homework

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Homework: get vs become

get
1. Kevin decided to _______________ an engineer after
college. become
2. Marie _______________ angry at her friend last night.
3. Lucy _______________ a teacher 25 years ago.
4. She _______________ nervous when she went into the
doctor’s office for the results.
5. I usually don’t _______________ scared when watching
horror films.
6. He _______________ promoted two weeks ago.
7. My students will _______________ graduates soon.
8. Your father will _______________ healthier after going
to the gym every day.
9. I have _______________ used to waking up early in the
morning for work.
10. She never _______________ accustomed to how the
company policies work.

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Homework: writing activity

Did you have a dream job when you were little? What did you
want to be? What made you want to be that? How did your life
change after you’ve made that decision? Write your story.

When I was _______________ years old, I wanted to become a …

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29 www.lingoda.com
Exercise p. 26
1. become, 2. got/became, 3. became, 4. got/became, 5. get, 6. got, 7. become, 8.
got/became, 9. gotten, 10. got/became
Homework answer key
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