Here are some of the most common meanings of "get" and ways that you can say them in Spanish:
"Get" meaning "to obtain": Common verbs with this meaning include obtener (conjugated in the same way as tener) and conseguir (conjugated in the same way as seguir):
- Voy a obtener la licenciatura que siempre quise. I'm going to get the degree I've always wanted.
- Diseñan un barco que obtiene su energía de las olas. They are designing a boat that gets its energy from the waves.
- El gobierno canadiense consiguió voto de confianza. The Canadian government got a vote of confidence.
- Te conseguimos el mejor precio para tu coche nuevo. We got you the best price for your new car.
Recibir is frequently used with certain nouns: recibir un préstamo, to get a loan; recibir una respuesta, to get a response; recibir un e-mail, to get an email; recibir un trasplante, to get a transplant.
"Get" when referring to a change in emotion: It is common in English to say that a person gets angry, gets said, gets happy and so on. Many of those phrases have particular verbs to express the thought in Spanish. Among them: enfadarse, to get angry; entristecerse, to get sad; alegrarse, to get happy; preocuparse, to get worried; confundirse, to get confused. It is also possible to use the verb ponerse to indicate a change in emotions.
- Me puse feliz al leer su mensaje. I got happy when I read your message.
- Se puso triste porque fue a la nevera a buscar mi botella de agua y estaba vacía. He got sad because he went to the refrigerator to look for his bottle of water and it was empty.
- Mi decisión se debió sencillamente a que me fastidié de depender de la nicotina. My decision came about simply because I got annoyed at depending on nicotine.
- En ocasiones me exaspero. Sometimes I get impatient.
"Get" meaning "to succeed at": Among the verb choices are llegar a and conseguir. Either of them are typically followed by an infinitive.
- No llegaron a ver la luz del día. They didn't get to see daylight.
- Llegué a estudiar a Santiago en 1982. I got to study in Santiago in 1982.
- Consiguieron mirar una película de la acción de Hong Kong. They got to watch an action film from Hong Kong.
- No lo entiendo/comprendo. I don't get it.
- No entiende/comprende por qué no le preguntó por su número de teléfono. He doesn't get why she never asked him for his telephone number.
- Gana cien pesos por hora. She gets 100 pesos per hour.
- El ejército mexicano finalmente ganó la victoria más increíble de la historia militar. The Mexican army finally got the most incredible victory in military history.
- Llegó a casa a las cinco. He got home at 5.
- No llegaré a la oficina. I won't get to the office.
The following page lists possible translations for many phrases using "get."
