Grammar Girl here, in this episode guest writer Bonnie Trangot is going to help us get along

with the word get.

Don't let others use if it get your goat.

Get is a perfectly normal word.

It just happens to have many meanings and is used in many idioms and colloquial expressions

some of which aren't accepted.

A listener named Sigrid felt that she should correct herself when she wrote, must get

your book soon.

To write, I almost erased the word get and replaced it with purchase, but that sounded

too formal.

However, the use of get would make a great podcast, I'm often changing that word and substituting

it for another frequently some form of the verb to be or to have in my client's manuscripts.

Sigrid is also wondering about how to use the verb to get in the past tense, so let's

get to the bottom of things.

The quick answer to Sigrid's question is that you don't need to censor yourself when

the word get crops up.

And it's probably best to stop correcting others unless they use a definitely illegal

phrase.

More on that later.

Get is good English.

It would almost be impossible to get through a day without saying get.

No style guide I checked bans the use of get.

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