Get/go

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Rachel Adams

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Can I use "get" instead of "go"?

"She got to the zoo."
 
It would be more natural with a few more words: She got to the zoo a few minutes ago.

"Went" tells when she left her starting location. "Got" tells us when she arrived.
 
It would be more natural with a few more words: She got to the zoo a few minutes ago.

"Went" tells when she left her starting location. "Got" tells us when she arrived.

Yes, I came across a similar sentence in "English File" by Christina Koenig. "What time does he get to the restaurant?"

And "When I get to the restaurant I check the reservations and my emails."

"When" and "what time" tell us the exact time or as you said the staring location. Do I understand correctly?
 
Yes, I came across [STRIKE]a[/STRIKE] two similar sentences in "English File" by Christina Koenig.

1. "What time does he get to the restaurant?"
[STRIKE]And[/STRIKE]
2. "When I get to the restaurant, I check the reservations and my emails."

"When" and "what time" tell us the exact time or, as you said, the starting location. Do I understand correctly?

See above. If you found both sentences in the same book, you should make that clear. Your use of "and" suggested that that was the case. I have left the book title in quotation marks because you will see titles marked out in that way. However, it's preferable to use italics. You found them in English File.

"What time" requires an exact time. "When" could be more vague. It could be answered with "In the morning" or "After lunch" or similar. In sentence 2, "when" simply means "At whatever time that".
 
See above. If you found both sentences in the same book, you should make that clear. Your use of "and" suggested that that was the case. I have left the book title in quotation marks because you will see titles marked out in that way. However, it's preferable to use italics. You found them in English File.

"What time" requires an exact time. "When" could be more vague. It could be answered with "In the morning" or "After lunch" or similar. In sentence 2, "when" simply means "At whatever time that".
?
No, the first sentence wasn't from a book. Thank you for corrections. Is the short asnwer to the question (''What time does he get to the restaurant?'') ''He gets at seven'' correct?
 
Thank you for the corrections. Is the short answer to the question [STRIKE]([/STRIKE] "What time does he get to the restaurant?" [STRIKE])[/STRIKE] "He gets there at seven" correct?
With my correction, yes. "Get" is a transitive verb that requires an object.

Don't use parentheses to mark text. That's what quotation marks or italics are for.

Don't use two single quotes to make a double quote. I remember that you had trouble with this when you first joined the forum and it turned out to be a problem with some software you were using. The problem seems to have returned.
 
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I rite grammatical rongs disturbingly often. Sorry.
 
In the context you're asking about, the phrase get to is like the phrase arrive at:

- He gets to work at eight. / He arrives at work at eight.

- She got to the station on time. / She arrived at the station on time.

And get there can be used like arrive:

- They got there at ten. / They arrived at ten.

- Will we ever get there? / Will we ever arrive?
 
? Random question mark!

No, the first sentence wasn't from a book. That's surprising. It appeared directly after the words "I came across a similar sentence in ..." so I assumed that at least the first sentence was from that book. You need to make your sources clearer.

Thank you for corrections. Is the short answer to the question no bracket here ''What time does he get to the restaurant?'', no bracket here ''He gets there at seven'', correct?

The shortest answer to the question is "[At] seven".
 
The shortest answer to the question is "[At] seven".

OK. I didn't know that native speakers omit ''at'' too by saying just the number.
 
We frequently give one-word answers to questions. When one word gives all required information, it suffices.
 
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