I Got Promoted; It Got Broken
Explore how get describes actions that happen to people and things, or changes in their state, in everyday work and home situations.
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Questions with solutions-
1. योग्य उत्तर निवडा.
What happened to the speaker?
I got promoted last week. Now I manage the whole team.
- The company gave the speaker a higher position.
- The speaker gave someone else a higher position.
- The speaker applied for a higher position.
Who receives the action in this sentence?
Show solution
- The company gave the speaker a higher position.
In this get-passive, the speaker receives the promotion rather than giving it to someone else.
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2. रिकामी जागा भरा.
With the heat off, the apartment got ___ during the night.
- coldness
- cold
- coldly
The missing word describes the apartment's temperature.
Show solution
With the heat off, the apartment got cold during the night.
Get can mean become. Here it takes an adjective, not a noun or an adverb.
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3. योग्य उत्तर निवडा.
What caused the damage?
The window got broken by a falling branch.
- Someone opening the window.
- The window falling onto a branch.
- A branch falling onto the window.
Look at the phrase beginning with "by."
Show solution
- A branch falling onto the window.
A by-phrase can name the cause of a passive action, even when that cause is not a person.
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4. रिकामी जागा भरा.
It was a managers-only event, so the assistants didn't get ___ to the dinner.
- inviting
- invite
- invited
The assistants would receive the invitation, not issue it.
Show solution
It was a managers-only event, so the assistants didn't get invited to the dinner.
After didn't, get stays in its base form, but the passive still needs the past participle invited.
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5. योग्य उत्तर निवडा.
How did the noise level change?
As everyone switched off their equipment, the office got quieter.
- It decreased.
- It increased.
- It stayed the same.
The ending of "quieter" signals a comparison.
Show solution
- It decreased.
Get plus a comparative adjective describes a change in degree. The office became less noisy, but not necessarily silent.
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6. रिकामी जागा भरा.
I stepped outside without my keys. The front door locked behind me, so I got ___ and couldn't get back into the house.
- locked in
- locked out
- let in
The speaker is outside and cannot enter.
Show solution
I stepped outside without my keys. The front door locked behind me, so I got locked out and couldn't get back into the house.
The particle stays with the verb in a get-passive. Get locked out means being unable to enter because the door is locked.
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7. योग्य उत्तर निवडा.
Which version has the same meaning and uses a conversational get-passive?
The budget was approved yesterday.
- The budget got ready yesterday.
- The budget got approval yesterday.
- The budget got approved yesterday.
A get-passive uses a past participle, not a noun or an ordinary adjective.
Show solution
- The budget got approved yesterday.
Got approved is a conversational alternative to was approved. Got approval uses get with a noun, so it is not passive.
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8. योग्य उत्तर निवडा.
What does this example show about get-passives?
I got selected to lead the project—exactly the opportunity I'd hoped for.
- They can describe good news.
- They always describe unfortunate events.
- They describe permanent qualities rather than events.
Consider how the speaker feels about the selection.
Show solution
- They can describe good news.
Get-passives often describe problems, but they also describe welcome events, such as being selected for an opportunity.
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9. योग्य उत्तर निवडा.
Does Lena causing the change make "got bright" a get-passive?
The room got bright when Lena opened the curtains.
- Yes. Any change caused by a person is passive.
- No. Bright is an adjective describing the room's new state.
- Yes. Got turns the following word into a passive verb.
Focus on the form after get, not just the cause of the change.
Show solution
- No. Bright is an adjective describing the room's new state.
An outside cause does not make a structure passive. Got bright still means became bright.
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10. योग्य उत्तर निवडा.
What does "got injured" tell us about responsibility for the accident?
I got injured when a loose ceiling panel fell on me at work.
- It shows that the speaker caused the accident.
- It shows that the speaker deliberately accepted the risk.
- It does not establish who was responsible.
Experiencing an event is not the same as causing it.
Show solution
- It does not establish who was responsible.
A get-passive focuses on what happened to its subject. It does not, by itself, assign blame.
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11. रिकामी जागा भरा.
By the time I reached the office, the door had already ___ locked by the night guard.
- gotten
- getting
- get
Had requires a past participle.
Show solution
By the time I reached the office, the door had already gotten locked by the night guard.
In American English, gotten is commonly used after had. Had gotten locked places the locking before the speaker's arrival.
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12. योग्य उत्तर निवडा.
What do the two uses of "getting" describe?
We're getting busy, and the boxes are getting delivered by a courier.
- Actions performed on both the workers and the boxes.
- The workers becoming busy and an action performed on the boxes.
- Changes in state with no action performed on either.
Compare the adjective busy with the past participle delivered.
Show solution
- The workers becoming busy and an action performed on the boxes.
Both patterns can use getting. The word that follows it determines whether the sentence describes becoming something or receiving an action.