English Help Online's Blog

Today’s phrasal verb is “get across”. It is used when we are trying to explain something to another person or other people, and we want to make them understand what we are talking about.

This phrasal verb is often followed by the preposition “to” if we use an object in the sentence. However, it’s not always necessary to include an object and, if we don’t, then “get across” will be intransitive.  For example:

This is a difficult idea. I hope I can get it across to you.

The teacher was trying to explain the meaning of the word “patient”. I understood it, but I don’t think she was able to get it across to the lower level students.

I tried to make my boss understand my idea for saving money at the company, but I don’t think I was able to get it across to him.

I understand the point you’re trying to make, but I think using some charts and pictures during your presentation will help you to get it across.

A: Do you think everyone understood what my concept for the project was?

B: Yes, I think you were able to get it across very well.

I would say that we usually say “to” when we’re trying to explain something to a specific person. However, when we’re explaining something to a larger group of people, we often drop the “to”.

So, this is the phrasal verb for this week. I hope I was able to get it across!  🙂