The Phrasal Verb 'Get Along' Explained
- Phrasal Verbs Explained
- 1 hour ago
- 8 min read
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get along' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native.
This instalment of Phrasal Verbs Explained is all about the lesser known phrasal verb 'get along'. As you will learn, 'get along' is a close cousin of the more famous phrasal verb 'get on' as it shares many similarities with it, however it also has its own meanings and uses and I will explain all of these to you over the course of the article. Furthermore, I will provide you with lots of example sentences in context to show how each application is used. So, without further ado, let's make a start and see what you can discover about the phrasal verb 'get along' today....
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THE BASICS
GET ALONG: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Medium |
Number of meanings | 3 |
Past tense forms | Got along / Got along (UK) / Gotten along (US) |
Separable? | No |
Before we begin our exploration of the phrasal verb 'get along', we should first spend a little bit of time looking at the words 'get' and 'along' as this can often provide us with some useful background information to help with our understanding of the phrasal verb meanings.
To get - This verb will need no introduction as it is one of the most commonly used verbs in the English language and is perhaps the most confusing for English learners as its meanings are so numerous and diverse. The meanings of 'to get' include 'to receive', 'to understand', 'to become' and 'to arrive' to name just a few. To confuse things even more, it is irregular and even has two accepted past participle forms with 'got' being more common in British English and 'gotten' being more common in American English.
What did you get for your birthday?
I don't get the joke; why is it funny?
You will get cold if you don't put some warm clothes on.
When do you think you will get here?
Along - 'Along' is a rarer prepositional particle that we do not see appearing in phrasal verbs very often. As a word, it tends mainly to be used to refer to a movement either in a line or from one end of something to the other. When used in phrasal verbs, 'along' can add this idea of movement in a direction to the base verb (go along), as well as ideas like progress (come along) and accompaniment (bring along).
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'get along'....
MEANING 1: To leave or move from where you are
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere but more common in American English |
Potential synonyms | To leave, to go, to move, to move along, to head off, to depart |
Separable? | No |
As I mentioned in the Basics section, the prepositional particle 'along' is often used to refer to a movement of some sort and this is precisely what it means in this first application of 'go ahead', which is 'to leave or move from where you are'.
Typically, this application is used to talk about when you are in a specific place and you need to move from there to go somewhere else. This is often when there is an element of urgency or hurrying involved.
This usage sounds a little old-fashioned in modern English and is not as common as it used to be, however you can still here it in use in some parts of the UK and in the southern USA.
I would say that you hear it most frequently in the expression "I / We had better be getting along", which is used by speakers to mean that it is time for them to leave.
Look at the time! I'd better be getting along if I want to miss the rush hour traffic!
We'd better be getting along as we have to be up early tomorrow.
Furthermore, 'get along!' can also be used in an imperative way, that is to give someone a command, order or instruction. I seem to remember if a teacher ever caught us in the corridor at school when we were late for a lesson, he or she would tell us to "get along to class", meaning to go there quickly, without delay.
It is also still possible to hear the construction "get along with you!" to mean the same thing, but is also a little rare these days.
Get along, now! You’ve got lots of work to do.
Get along home before it starts to get dark.
What are you doing loitering in the corridor? Get along to class!
You may have noticed in the information table above that I stated that this application cannot be used in a separable way and while this is generally true, there is one way that we can use it separably. When being used in its imperative form, it is quite common for speakers to insert the reflexive 'self' pronoun between 'get' and 'along'. This doesn't actually change the meaning in any way but I think it can just soften the tone of what you're saying, especially if it is a recommendation and not an order.
Get yourself along to the town hall today as there will be a charity event taking place there.
Get yourselves along to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of my new novel.
MEANING 2: To have a good relationship with someone
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere but more common in American English |
Potential synonyms | To get on |
Separable? | No |
We'll now move on from the rarest of the three meanings of 'get along' to the most commonly used one, which is 'to have a good relationship with someone'. For this application, we also need the additional preposition 'with'.
If you get along with someone, it means that you like each other and you have a friendly and amicable relationship. Typically, you enjoy spending time with that person and do not argue or fight with them. We can also use this in the negative to describe when two people do not have a good or friendly relationship.
As I mentioned above, we need the extra word 'with' if we want to specify the person with whom the good relationship exists. However, you should note that it is fine to use "two people get along" when we already know who the people are and therefore do not need to specify their names.
On a grammatical note, I would say that this application tends to be used more in simple aspect tenses as it acts as more of a state verb to describe something that is unlikely to change much (although of course it can in this particular situation).
Moreover, although I have stated that this application is used for two people, this is not always the case and it can be used for multiple people too.
I get along well with my co-workers.
My daughter gets along with everyone in her class.
My brother and I got along when we were kids, but not so much now.
Jake got along with his new teammates right away.
Frank and Jim have always got along despite their different opinions.
The two families had always got along well until the dispute over the land.
I’m sure you will get along with her once you meet her in person.
They will get along better after spending more time together.
GET ALONG VS GET ON - WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
For those of you who have a good knowledge of 'get' phrasal verbs, you may be wondering what the difference is with the phrasal verb synonym 'get on' here. Well, the short answer is nothing in terms of meaning; they both mean the same thing.
The difference lies in where they are used. While British English speakers do use 'get along', we tend to use 'get on' more commonly to describe a friendly situation. American English speakers on the other hand do not use 'get on' as much and use 'get along' instead.
MEANING 3: To manage in a satisfactory way
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere but more common in American English |
Potential synonyms | To get on, to cope, to manage, to survive, to get by |
Separable? | No |
We have now arrived at our third and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'get along', which is 'to manage in a satisfactory way'.
This last application can be used in two ways: to talk about life in general and to talk about specific life situations.
For life in general, we can use 'get along' to talk about managing to survive with enough money, food and basic necessities in a way that is satisfactory. It might not be leading a jet set lifestyle with a six-figure bank balance but it is sufficient for what we need. It is often used to highlight the fact that the person in question is independent and does not rely on other people for money etc. Alternatively, it can also be used to refer to when someone doesn't have problems in their life, typically caused by a lack of something.
I get along just fine on my own, thank you.
Rosie gets along without much money.
I was getting along fine until my car broke down.
Don’t worry, we will get along somehow.
Secondly, we can also use 'get along' to talk about coping to managing ok in more specific or temporary situations in life. This is particularly used when there are difficulties or struggles involved in the situation or if it is something new like when a person moves house or starts a job. In these scenarios, it is common for another to ask the person "how are you getting along?".
I can get along without my phone for a few hours, no problem.
I'm sure we will get along until the power comes back on.
Kit will have to get along on instant noodles until payday.
We’ll get along with just one suitcase between us for the weekend.
We’ll just have to try and get along in this small apartment until we find something bigger.
BONUS: The idiom 'to get along on a shoestring'
To finish the post off, here is a nice little idiomatic expression for you that features the final application of 'get along' that we just looked at.
To get along on a shoestring - We can use this expression to describe situations in which people have to live with a very small amount of money or a limited budget. It implies that someone does not have much money and most or all of it is spent on the basic necessities to live like rent / mortgage, food, bills etc.
Like most students, I had to get along on a shoestring when I was at university.
They’re going to have to get along on a shoestring until their new business starts making a profit.
We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'get along'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'get along'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
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THE END
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