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Danny
get and give Hi language professors, sometimes , i got confused about GET and GIVE. A. "Can You GET me a ride to the grocery store" "my car broke down today" "what can I get you" said the waiter GET = bring B. "Can You GIVE me a ride to the grocery store" "my car broke down today" either is correct? thanks Danny
Jun 3, 2019 3:00 AM
Answers · 6
3
Can you get me a ride? (Asks the person to arrange a ride for me. Probably NOT from the person I am asking. This is a slightly different meaning of “get” (arrange) than the waiter’s “get”. Other examples: Can you get me an interview with the mayor? Can you get me on the 4pm train? I got him his first job. Note - English teachers are often not too fond of the word “get” but it doesn’t seem to deter its usage much. Can you give me a ride? (Asks the person for a ride. Much more common)
June 3, 2019
2
When you use "get" in place of "give," it implies that the other person needs to perform two actions: 1) obtain something ("get" it), and 2) give it to you. If a waiter asks me "What can I get you?", I understand that the waiter will first go and "get" some food (pick it up from the kitchen), and then bring it to me. When you just say "give," it implies that the person already has the thing that you want him/her to give you. You can only "give" something if you "have" it (in the sense that you own it, or in the sense that it is in your possession right now). You can "get" something that you don't have yet. For example, imagine that there's a concert coming up soon. If my friend ALREADY has tickets to the concert, I can say, "Can you GIVE me a ticket?" However, if my friend is PLANNING to buy tickets, but does not have any tickets yet, I would say, "Can you GET me a ticket?" My friend does not have any tickets yet, so he/she will have to "get" the tickets before he/she can give me one. To ask for a ride, both "give" and "get" are possible, although "get" is a little bit informal. If you use "get," it sort of implies that the other person is "obtaining" a ride from somewhere, and then giving it to you. "Give" is a little more formal, and I think "give" makes it more clear that the other person is performing a favor for you (not just "getting" a favor from somewhere else).
June 3, 2019
B is correct. You can either say "give someone a ride" or "get a ride from someone"
June 3, 2019
A
June 3, 2019
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