ENGLISH
REFERENCE

get back

phr. v..
A2 Elementary Oxford

phr. v.. to return to a place after you have been away.

phr. v.. to return to a previous location. This sense is intransitive.


SIMPLE

What time did you get back last night?

CONTEXTUAL

She usually gets back from work around six o'clock.

COMPLEX

After a long and arduous journey through the mountains, the explorers were relieved to finally get back to the safety of their base camp.

Particles
back
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
get + back
Usage

Often used with 'from' to specify the origin or 'to' to specify the destination.

Teaching tip

Clarify that this intransitive sense means 'return', and contrast it with the transitive 'get something back' (retrieve) and 'get back to someone' (reply later).

Pitfall

I got back my home at midnight.I got back home at midnight.In the sense of 'return', 'get back' is intransitive and does not take a direct object; the destination is introduced with 'to' or used as an adverb (like 'home').

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