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Nakamura Yo Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Can a cell phone "get in" water?

Could anyone help me with this question regarding the use of "get preposition STH."?
For instance, when you accidently dropped your cell phone in water, could you say "my cell phone just got in water!"? in another word, can subjects of "get + preposition" be inanimate objects?
I feel that a sentence "a button got off my shirt." sounds a little bit odd.
And it should be "came off." But I can't be sure about "my cell phone just got in water."
Thank you so much for your help in advance.
  

Top answer

Nakamura Yo M y cell phone just got in water! You can say it and people would understand you, but it's not very idiomatic. My cell phone got wet.

— CalifJim

  • Nakamura Yo M y cell phone just got in water!
  • You can say it and people would understand you, but it's not very idiomatic.
  • My cell phone got wet.
  • My cell phone fell in(to) the water.
  • Nakamura Yo can subjects of "get + preposition" be inanimate objects?
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9 Answers
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Nakamura YoMy cell phone just got in water!
You can say it and people would understand you, but it's not very idiomatic.

My cell phone got wet. My cell phone fell in(to) the water.
Nakamura Yocan subjects of "get + preposition" be inanimate objects?
Yes.

Some s
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Thank a lot for your reply, CalifJim. If I may, I would like to ask another question. Could you say "my computer got off line for some reason." instead of "went off line."? By any chance does "a computer getting off line" give you an impression that as if it is alive and went off line with its own will?
Thanks so much for your time and kindness.
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Nakamura YoBy any chance does "a computer getting off line" give you an impression that as if it is alive and went off line with its own will?
No. That does not give me the impression that the computer is an agent capable of acting on its own. You can use 'get' when the subject is not an agent, as I showed you earlier.

It does give me the impression
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Thanks so much again. But I'm a little bit confused here.

CalifJim: You can use 'get' when the subject is not an agent...
In your example 'Some sand got into his shoes...', what would be the agent then?
And I can't see why 'a cell phone got in the water'. and 'a computer got off line.' are incorrect while 'Some sand got into his shoes.
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Nakamura YoIn your example 'Some sand got into his shoes...', what would be the agent then?
There is no agent. Neither sand nor shoes can perform any actions.
Nakamura YoI can't see why 'a cell phone got in the water'. and 'a computer got off line.' are incorrect while 'Some sand got into his shoes.' is correct to say.
I ca
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We can say, "Some water got in my cell phone".
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fivejedjonWe can say, "Some water got in my cell phone".
Right. So I wonder if it always has to be something smaller gets into something bigger — more or less. I can't seem to find the right words to characterize the relationship.

CJ
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Thank you guys so much for your help. sounds like there are no definite grammar rules on this. I was trying to find a rule applicable to all other general cases. However I guess what I need is to accumulate more experiences with the language and attain the sense and feelings of what sounds right and wrong. It would take some time but worth doing because it's so fun to speak English.
Again than
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Nakamura YoHowever I guess what I need is to accumulate more experiences with the language and attain the sense and feelings of what sounds right and wrong. It would take some time but worth doing because it's so fun to speak English.
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