Phrasal verb
get across to
Definition
phrasal verb. to make someone understand an idea or a message clearly.
phrasal verb. to communicate a concept or information successfully to an audience; implies overcoming a barrier of understanding or distance.
Examples
“I hope I got my point across to the team.”
“The teacher used simple drawings to get the difficult science lesson across to the young students.”
“The politician struggled to get his message across to the voters despite spending millions on television advertisements and social media campaigns.”
Examples
simple
“I hope I got my point across to the team.”
contextual
“The teacher used simple drawings to get the difficult science lesson across to the young students.”
complex
“The politician struggled to get his message across to the voters despite spending millions on television advertisements and social media campaigns.”
Usage
usually requires an object (the idea) between 'get' and 'across'.
Teaching tip
contrast with 'get through to' which focuses more on emotional connection or breaking through stubbornness; 'get across to' focuses on the clarity of the information.
Pitfall
I tried to get across my idea to him.
I tried to get my idea across to him.
while 'get across' can be used together, it is much more natural to place the idea being communicated between 'get' and 'across'.
Phrasal verb
Particles
across to
Separability
optional
Pattern
get + [object] + across + to + [person]
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/get-across-to