Past participles can be used with the verb get. Get may be followed by a wide variety of adjectives and may occur in any tense, including in a progressive form.
- I’m getting hungry. Let’s go pick up some food soon.
- I stopped working, because I got dizzy.
- You shouldn’t eat so much. You will get fat.
Following is a list of adjectives commonly used with get.
| angry | dizzy | old |
| anxious | empty | sick |
| bald | (very) far | sleepy |
| better | heavy | tall |
| big | hot | thirsty |
| busy | hungry | warm |
| chilly | late | well |
| cold | mad | wet |
| dark | nervous | worse |
In the structure get + past participle, the past participle functions as an adjective; it describes the subject noun or pronoun of the sentence. Consider the following examples.
- They are getting engaged next week.
- Dad got worried, because Lola was three hours late and didn’t bother to call.
Using get + past participle instead of be + past participle indicates a changing situation. The meaning of get in the above sentences is similar to the meaning of become. Compare the examples above with the following.
- They will become engaged next week.
- Dad became worried, because Lola was three hours late and didn’t bother to call.
This structure with get can occur in any tense.
| PRESENT | They get tired. |
| PRESENT PROGRESSIVE | They are getting tired a lot lately. |
| PRESENT PERFECT | They have gotten tired. |
| PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE | They have been getting tired a lot lately. |
| PAST | They got tired. |
| PAST PROGRESSIVE | They were getting tired a lot lately. |
| PAST PERFECT | They had gotten tired. |
| PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE | They had been getting tired a lot lately. |
| FUTURE | They will get tired. |
| FUTURE PROGRESSIVE | They will be getting tired after just a few minutes of exercise. |
| FUTURE PERFECT | They will have gotten tired. |
| FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE | They will have been getting tired after just a few minutes of exercise. |
All the tense forms are grammatically correct. Some, such as the future perfect progressive, are avoided, however, because they sound awkward. A simpler tense is used in place of such awkward phrases.