The Phrasal Verb 'Get By' Explained
Updated: 2 days ago
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get by' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my blog all about English phrasal verbs. Each week, I take a different phrasal verb and look at how it is used by native speakers, with a focus on the different meanings that it has and the expressions and idioms that it is used in.
This week's post is another phrasal verb featuring the ever-popular verb 'to get'; namely 'get by'. In this post, we will look at what native speakers mean when they use 'get by' in a literal sense, as well as its different figurative meanings, including to do the minimum possible required to succeed and to have just enough of something to manage. So, without further ado, let's get started....
QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'get by' mean?The phrasal verb 'get by' has four main meanings in English:
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TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one)
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THE BASICS
GET BY: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Medium |
Number of meanings | 4 |
Simple past form | Got by |
Past participle | Got by / Gotten by |
Separable? | No |
The phrasal verb 'get by' is made up of arguably the most popular verb amongst English native speakers, 'to get', and the prepositional particle 'by'.
As we have seen in previous posts, the verb 'to get' has a wide range of different uses in English, however the meaning that is most relevant for the different usages of 'get by' is 'to move to and arrive at a different place or position'.
The particle 'by' can be used both as a preposition and an adverb in English and the prepositional meaning which we are interested in for this post is 'movement past something'.
Now, with the two individual elements of this phrasal verb explained, the first of the meanings should be an easy one to understand so let's go....
MEANING 1: To move past something
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To move past, to get past |
Separable? | No |
Following on from the previous section, this first usage of 'get by' is the literal meaning that is produced when we combine the two forms of 'get' and 'by', outlined in the previous section, i.e. to move past something so that you are on the other side of it. This is generally only ever used for physical movement and not in a symbolic or metaphorical way.
In general, we use 'get by' in situations where it is difficult to move past something as there is some sort of obstruction, or in other words, when something is blocking your path. In contrast, if there is no obstacle present or we can move past something easily and without restriction, then native speakers are more likely to use another relevant verb of movement such as go, walk or drive. The verb 'to get' in this case implies an element of difficulty to the action.
As such, here are some typical situations in which we use 'get by' in this way....
When a road is blocked by a car or another kind of obstruction and you cannot easily drive past it.
When a person is blocking a path that you are walking on and you need to walk past them.
When a road has been closed by authorities and you need to turn onto it in order to reach your destination.
If you park your car here, you will make it difficult for other cars to get by.
Sorry, do you need to get by?
The police have sealed off the road where I live and will not let me get by to go home.
MEANING 2: To survive with the minimum possible
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To make do, to cope, to make ends meet |
Separable? | No |
The second meaning of 'get by' is 'to survive or manage with the minimum possible amount of something'.
When we use 'get by' in this sense, the key idea is that we have only a small amount of something and it is just enough to meet our requirements. In other words, the amount that we have allows us to manage in the given situation, however if we had more of it, either the situation would be better or our lives would be more comfortable.
'Get by' can often have negative connotations, especially when talking about money, as it is often used when talking about financial difficulties, or in extreme cases poverty and deprivation.
If we want to express or quantify the small amount that we have, we require the extra preposition 'on' to do this. Alternatively, we can also use 'to get by with' when specifying something that we have, which enables us to do something, but is not ideal for the job (i.e. there are better alternatives in existence).
Aside from money, other common nouns which can be used with 'get by' when they are in short supply are sleep, food and knowledge. It is also commonly used in the expression 'get by on my own', meaning to manage without the help of other people, although it will not be easy.
I don't earn a lot of money but I get by!
It is said that Margaret Thatcher got by on four hours' sleep a night.
It was a tough situation but I got by with a little help from my friends and family.
MEANING 3: To satisfy the minimum requirements
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To scrape by |
Separable? | No |
For our third meaning of 'get by', we do not have to make such a big leap from the second meaning that we have just looked at, as it means 'to satisfy the minimum requirements of something'.
This is very much the same idea as the second meaning, but the focus here is that we achieve a certain requirement such as an examination pass, with the lowest possible mark. For example, if you needed a score of 50% in an exam in order to pass it and you got a score of 51%, you could say that you got by with 51%. Conversely, if you scored less than the requisite 50% mark, then you failed and 'get by' cannot be used here.
As per the example above, this is commonly used with examinations and tests, however it can also be used for any other area where minimum requirements must be met in order to qualify for something e.g. sports.
I got by with low passes in my exams, so I can go to university but I won't be able to go the university or my choice.
MEANING 4: To go unnoticed
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To get past, to sneak by, to sneak past |
Separable? | No |
Our fourth and final usage of 'get by' is one that links back to the literal usage that we covered earlier on in the post. The idea of this is more of an extension of the first meaning because it means 'to move past something or someone without being seen or noticed'.
This usage is a good synonym of the phrasal verb 'to sneak past', as it essentially means to move past a person or group of people unnoticed, in order to get to where you want to be. This is something that you often see in action movies where the protagonist has to sneak past some people to get to the place where he or she can save the day!
'Get by' is used intransitively in this sense when the speaker is talking about 'getting by' a person without being seen or noticed; however, it can also be used transitively with a direct object when we want to talk about moving an object or another person past someone without being seen.
Lastly, we can also use this meaning of 'get by' when talking about something passing checks or verifications without being noticed or spotted, typically when the thing in question would not normally 'get by' if it were spotted.
If you want to get into the club, you are going to have to get by the bouncers.
The visitor to the prison tried to get the cigarettes by the prison guards.
Although there was an error on my passport application, it still managed to get by the verification checks.
BONUS: Some classic old songs featuring 'get by'
Before I finish this post, here are a couple of golden oldies featuring our phrasal verb of choice 'get by' for reference...enjoy!
We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'get by' more confidently and naturally.
Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'get by' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media.
Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills?Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... |
Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊
THE END
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