Take vs Get
The difference between take and get becomes a little unclear when we are talking about acquiring the possession of something. So, though the two verbs take and get are used in countless contexts and have very similar meanings, when it comes to this particular incident, their meanings change very much. It is better to understand the differences between the two verbs by taking a look at some of the common examples. Therefore, in this article we are going to see what each term means and what makes them different from each other by examining the characteristics of each term.
What does Take mean?
Take means to get one’s hands on something. Apart from this, take is used in a number of collocations in English such as take a lesson, take a shower, take a seat, etc. Take carries some other meanings such as consuming. Let us look at some examples.
Everyday I take a shower.
I took an apple from the counter.
Robert takes three pills a day.
It is clear from the above examples that when you make use of take, you actually get involved in some action. In every sentence, you can clearly see that the subject of the sentence has to involve in the subject fully in order to perform the action. In the first sentence, take is used in a collocation. Here, it means the person washes himself or herself. Then, in the second sentence, take means get one’s hands on. Here, the person gets his or her hands on an apple. In the last sentence, the word take means consume. So, Robert consumes three pills a day.
The most interesting fact about take is that when used in a situation as in the second example, take carries the connotation of obtaining something without the permission of the owner.
‘I took an apple from the counter’
What does Get mean?
Get means obtaining something. The word get is also used with collocations such as get dark, get home, get some sleep, get in touch, etc. Let us have a look at some examples.
I get my salary on the 7th of every month.
I got a brown puppy for my birthday.
It will get dark soon.
The main common feature in all of these three sentences is that the subject is passive and not taking any action when someone is making use of get. In the first and second sentences, the word get means obtaining something. It gives the meaning that the subject obtains something without much of his or her involvement. In the third sentence, get dark is a set phrase in English. Here, it implies that night will come soon. You will be able to notice that when we use the verb get we get a connotation that we obtain something that should be given to us; it is not obtained without permission from someone.
Let us compare the active and passive senses given by the words take and get for one last time.
I plan to take my fiancé to opera coming Thursday.
I got a ride from my mother.
Here again, the difference lies in the action taken by the speaker of the sentence and what is done to him. In the first sentence, the subject is involved in doing the action of taking someone somewhere. In the second sentence, the subject is not involved in the action as it is the other person, the mother, who is doing the actual action of driving the subject to a place.
When someone is told to take his time before informing his decision, he is actually being given the liberty to think before taking a decision. On the other hand, if the same person is asked to get dressed up, he is actually being requested (or ordered) to dress up quickly.
‘I got a brown puppy for my birthday’
What is the difference between Take and Get?
• Meaning:
• Take means get one’s hands on something, consuming, etc.
• Get means obtaining something.
• Action:
• Take is used when there is some action by the subject.
• Get is used when there is no action from the subject.
• Get is also used in instances where it means to buy.
• Connotations:
• At times, the word take carries the connotation of acquiring something without the permission of the owner.
• Get does not carry any connotation of wrongfully obtaining something.
These are the differences between take and get. As you can see the meanings of take and get seems confusing when we are referring to the action of obtaining something. However, the connotations associated with each verb make it easier for us to understand what we should use at what time.
Images Courtesy:
- Five Civni (“Rubens”) apples on a plate by Sandstein (CC BY 3.0)
- A Dachshund puppy by harperlauren (CC BY-SA 2.0)
