Get Sth Done // Is this pattern about where to put attention?

Question

Teachers, I once posted here about this pattern 'get sth done' with this sentence,"I got the kids settled down" and got an anwer that this is for taking attention from the doer of the action to the action being done. Then is it the same case with these ones: "I got the house cleaned and laundry done." or " I must have got the times mixed up."

Thank you so much. I would appreciate any explanations!

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Bamtori,"I got the kids settled down"
"I got the house cleaned and laundry done."
"I must have got the times mixed up." Hi, Bamtori,

I'd definitely put #2 in the same category as #1 in terms of meaning, but #3 seems like a different idiom.
To get something done
vs.
To get something wrong

I'm not sure I can pin it down. In both cases, you may or may not be the actor.
I got the plumber to fix my garbage disposal unit. I got the dishes done.

I suppose this has the same dual meaning as "to have something done":
I'll have the plumber fix my drain. I'll have my homework done by seven-thirty. .

#3 is different.
I got the third one marked wrong. (Somebody did it to me.) I got beat up this afternoon.

I got confused/mixed up. = I became confused/mixed up.

I got the car in the wrong gear. (I made a mistake.)

I'm not sure if "I became something" and "something happened to me" are the same meaning.

I think not.

This probably doesn't answer your question, but it's something to think about. - A.

Edit. Well, I'm having second thoughts about #1 & #2 (to get something done). There does seem to be a difference:

I got the kids settled down. I managed to change their state from active to calm.
I got the plug in the socket. I managed to change it from "out" to "in."

I got the house cleaned. I completed a planned routine.

Yes, there's a similarity, but there's also a difference.
With the first pair, you may fail. You don't really know how long it might take.
With the last one, there's not necessarily a problem to overcome. You just have to do it.
Bamtorigot an anwer that this is for taking attention from the doer of the action to the action being done.
I confess I don't know exactly what this means. Perhaps I'm not answering your question at all.

Get Sth Done // Is this pattern about where to put attention?

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