to marry and to get married

Question

Hello!Do you marry?Do you get married?Are the meaning the same?Thanks,Lynn

Rotter · Accepted Answer

Get marry means that you start some sort of legally and socially acceptable relationship.

On the other hand it is not necessary to get marry to lead a legally and socially acceptable relationship.

I married Maria a few years ago. This is 100% correct.

If you are a bachelor, you could say I will get marry next year/month.

After the marriage, you could say I married her a week/month ago.

Do you mary sound odd.

Are you married? This is fine.

Nona the brit · Answer

If you are asking someone what they are going to do , you say 'Are you getting married?' or 'Are you going to get married?'

Siggy · Answer

Hi Lynn3

Lynn3Do you marry?

Do you get married?

Are the meaning the same?

The word "get" can be used to talk about something you "intend" to happen or do, or that you will "become." You can "get drunk," "get angry," "get it over with" or "get pumped," but all of these suggest an intention or active involvement.

You could say "Are you getting married?" or "Are you going to marry?" - both work. If you're using "do," you would most likely say "Do you intend to get married?" or "Do you want to get married?"

Notice that if you use "get," you have to use the past participle form of the verb "marry," which is "married." This is the same as in "get divorced" or "get dressed" - you can't say "*get marries" or "*get drank." Look at the following examples and you'll see how the "get" verb has to do all the changing:

"We got married years ago"
"I will get married next summer"
"Jim gets married soon"
"They are getting married on Monday."

So you might also want to think of "get" as meaning something like "becoming," especially when used with a past participle form ("He got angry" = "He became angry;" "He got drunk" = "He became drunk."

Now, English being the quirky language it is, you can say "Do you intend to marry?" or "Do you want to marry?" because the verb "to marry" can be used just like any other regular verb. However, I suspect more people use "get married."

Hope this helps.

Siggy

BarbaraPA · Answer

You can also simply "marry," but it tends to be used as a transitive verb.

I married my husband in 2004.

Will you marry me? (You don't say "will you get married to me?")

Marry the man today, and change his ways tomorrow. (Adelaide and Sarah sing this in Guys and Dolls.)

I alwasy stumble when a minister refers to a couple and says "I married them," meaning "I performed their wedding ceremony." But I use it that way myself - The Reverend Doctor Imes married us.

Lynn3 · Answer

Hi Siggy,

I think you explaned that every well. However, "Jim gets married soon" seems to me it is like future tense because of "soon", but you used simple tense. Why?

Thanks,

Lynn

Milky · Answer

Nona The BritIf you are asking someone what they are going to do , you say 'Are you getting married?' or 'Are you going to get married?'

How about "will you marry"?

Nona the brit · Answer

'Will you marry' sounds odd on its own but is fine as the start of a question.

I think we need to separate two situations here.

1) You are asking someone who you know is in a strong relationship and you believe marriage may well be happening in their future

2) You are asking someone who is not in that situation, but just discussing marriage in theory.

You would ask them in different ways.

1) Are you getting married - when are you two getting married then - have you any plans to get married - are you going to get married - do you think you'll get married - would you like to marry him/her - will you marry Fred/Jenny?

2) Do you think you'll marry? Would you get married? will you marry when you get older? Would you like to get married?

Milky · Answer

Nona The Brit'Will you marry' sounds odd on its own but is fine as the start of a question.

I think we need to separate two situations here.

1) You are asking someone who you know is in a strong relationship and you believe marriage may well be happening in their future

2) You are asking someone who is not in that situation, but just discussing marriage in theory.

You would ask them in different ways.

1) Are you getting married - when are you two getting married then - have you any plans to get married - are you going to get married - do you think you'll get married - would you like to marry him/her - will you marry Fred/Jenny?

2) Do you think you'll marry? Would you get married? will you marry when you get older? Would you like to get married?

Yes, I use all those, but we also use the future form "to be" :

Prince Stefan to wed.

Princes Sharon to marry.

Madonna to marry.

Queen to vist Canada.

etc.

Nona the brit · Answer

Yes we do but this is when we know that it is definitely to happen, not if we are asking a question about whether it will or not.

Anonymous · Answer

forget about the grammar !
It's as simple as this~> get(ting) married makes us think of the wedding and to be married is just about life situation
eg: "Are you married?"
yes I am
"oh where did you get married?"
I got married in Las Vegas!
Explaining through grammar is very limited and ultimately not a great help for second language students ( IMHO ^^ )

to marry and to get married

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