Get, Become and Stay

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Get, Become and Stay

In this lesson, you can distinguish a state from a change into that state.

Created by , British English teacher.

I’m studying:

Try the activities, then check your answers.

Choose a short recording.

Before you start

Describe how someone feels after a long walk.

See one possible response

She gets tired.

A walking group starts early, rests in the afternoon and checks how everyone feels.

What you will practise
  • Distinguish a state from a change into that state.
  • Describe a state continuing with stay.
  • Select a natural verb–adjective phrase for the intended change or continuation.

Answer first. Then check one model. Keep the meaning and the target pattern.

A change: get or become

Get and become can come before an adjective to describe a change. I’m tired describes my state; I’m getting tired describes a change towards that state. Become is often more formal, but it is useful in ordinary descriptions too.

The path is getting dark.

After a few minutes, the room became quiet.

The pair notice that an isolated narrow strip of footpath is becoming darker, with a small unlit path lamp nearby. Their concerned glance and reaching for a flashlight support the developing change. Keep the entire surrounding background white; darkness belongs only to the necessary path strip, no sky or landscape.
The path is getting dark.Getting dark presents a developing change.

A continuing state: stay

Stay + adjective means continue in that state. Stay calm does not mean become calm for the first time; it asks someone to continue being calm. Stay also has a place meaning, so check the word after it.

Please stay close to the group.

The water stayed cold all morning.

Choose the meaning, then the form

Choose get or become for a change and stay for continuation. Use an adjective after these linking uses: get cold, become confident, stay safe. Not every adjective fits every verb equally naturally, so learn useful complete phrases.

I got hungry after the walk.

The new member became more confident.

The woman checks a sealed clear bottle of cold water in an insulated cooler with small ice packs. A simple small clock and condensation on the bottle support water remaining cold through the morning; the man observes. No invented measurement or written temperature.
The water stayed cold all morning.Stayed cold presents continuation.

Guided practice

Say or write your answer first. Then compare the meaning and grammar with the model.

1. The sky was bright; now it is darker. Is it getting dark or staying bright?

Compare a model and explanation

It is getting dark.

The supplied state is changing.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

2. Please stay ___. Use the adjective calm.

Compare a model and explanation

calm

A linking stay takes an adjective here.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

3. The soup got coldly.

Compare a model and explanation

The soup got cold.

Cold describes the resulting state of the soup.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

4. I get tired after work. Make it about yesterday.

Compare a model and explanation

I got tired after work yesterday.

Get has the past form got.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

5. The café is busy. The café is getting busy. Which describes a change?

Compare a model and explanation

The café is getting busy.

Getting shows movement towards the state.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

6. Was the room warm all night? Say yes with stayed.

Compare a model and explanation

Yes, it stayed warm all night.

Stayed expresses the continuing state.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

7. The child became quiet. Must the child have been quiet before?

Compare a model and explanation

No.

Became describes a change into quietness, not its previous continuation.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

8. The hall was cold. Later it was warmer. After that it remained warm. Use get and stay.

Compare a model and explanation

The hall got warmer and then stayed warm.

The first verb marks change; the second marks continuation.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

A short conversation

Listen to the exchange, then take one role. The speaker labels identify roles; do not narrate them.

Open the conversation transcript

Walker: I’m getting tired. Can we stop?

Leader: Yes. Stay close while we find a place to rest.

Walker: The wind is getting cold too.

Leader: Here’s a sheltered bench. We can stay warm here.

Listening checks

Listen to each extract, then choose the best answer. These three questions have their own score.

1. What happened after noon?
Read the listening transcript

The room got warm at noon and stayed warm until evening.

2. What changed?
Read the listening transcript

I was nervous at first, but I became calm after the introduction.

3. Why is the bag useful?
Read the listening transcript

Keep the bottle in the bag. The water stays cool there.

Answer key with explanations

  1. What happened after noon?

    The room continued to be warm.: Stayed warm gives the continuing state.

    Compare all choices
    • The room continued to be warm.: Stayed warm gives the continuing state.
    • The room became cold immediately.: That contradicts stayed warm.
    • The room was never warm.: It got warm at noon.

  2. What changed?

    The speaker’s feeling.: Became calm describes a change from nervousness.

    Compare all choices
    • Nothing changed.: Became explicitly describes a change.
    • The speaker’s feeling.: Became calm describes a change from nervousness.
    • The speaker’s location.: No change of location is stated.

  3. Why is the bag useful?

    The water continues to be cool.: Stays cool describes continuation.

    Compare all choices
    • The water becomes hot.: Hot is not the stated result.
    • The water disappears.: No disappearance is mentioned.
    • The water continues to be cool.: Stays cool describes continuation.

Mastery quiz

Choose the best answer for each situation. The score is out of eight.

1. The light is changing from bright to dark. Choose the sentence.
2. Choose a continuing state.
3. Complete: I ___ hungry after the long walk yesterday.
4. Choose the natural linking pattern.
5. What does She became confident describe?
6. Choose the statement that only describes a present state.
7. The coffee was hot and remained hot. Choose the accurate account.
8. Choose a clear two-stage account.
Answer key with explanations

  1. The light is changing from bright to dark. Choose the sentence.

    It is getting dark.: Get + adjective describes this change.

    Compare all choices
    • It is staying bright.: That describes continuation of the earlier state.
    • It is darkly getting.: The adjective and verb are not formed naturally.
    • It is getting dark.: Get + adjective describes this change.

  2. Choose a continuing state.

    The room stayed quiet.: Stayed says the quiet state continued.

    Compare all choices
    • The room stayed quiet.: Stayed says the quiet state continued.
    • The room got louder.: Got louder also marks change.
    • The room became noisy.: Became marks a change.

  3. Complete: I ___ hungry after the long walk yesterday.

    got: Got is the past of get and hungry is the resulting state.

    Compare all choices
    • get: The task asks for yesterday’s completed account.
    • got: Got is the past of get and hungry is the resulting state.
    • getting: A finite verb is missing.

  4. Choose the natural linking pattern.

    Please stay safe.: Safe describes the subject’s state.

    Compare all choices
    • Please safe stayly.: The sentence is not formed correctly.
    • Please stay safely.: Safely would describe the manner of an action, not the intended state here.
    • Please stay safe.: Safe describes the subject’s state.

  5. What does She became confident describe?

    A change towards confidence.: Became marks a new state.

    Compare all choices
    • A change towards confidence.: Became marks a new state.
    • Only her location.: Confident is a quality, not a place.
    • Proof that she was always confident.: The change verb does not establish that.

  6. Choose the statement that only describes a present state.

    The food is cold.: Is cold states the current condition.

    Compare all choices
    • The food became cold.: Became describes a past change.
    • The food is cold.: Is cold states the current condition.
    • The food is getting cold.: Getting adds a change.

  7. The coffee was hot and remained hot. Choose the accurate account.

    It stayed hot.: This preserves the continuing temperature.

    Compare all choices
    • It got cold.: That introduces the opposite change.
    • It became hot from cold.: The supplied coffee was already hot.
    • It stayed hot.: This preserves the continuing temperature.

  8. Choose a clear two-stage account.

    I got tired, but I stayed awake.: One state changed while another continued.

    Compare all choices
    • I got tired, but I stayed awake.: One state changed while another continued.
    • I stayed tired, so I had never been tired.: Continuing tiredness does not mean it never existed.
    • I got tiredly and stayed awaken.: The adjective forms are wrong for these patterns.

Use it in your own words

Small changes

Describe two changes during a normal day. Use get with adjectives.

Reveal a possible response

I get hungry before lunch. The streets get quiet at night.

  • Express changes rather than locations
  • Use natural adjectives

You may describe a fictional day.

What continued?

Describe a place or object that stayed in one state while another thing changed.

Reveal a possible response

The garden got dark, but the kitchen stayed bright.

  • Contrast change and continuation
  • Keep the subjects clear

Other suitable state contrasts are welcome.

Put it all together

Explain a first day at a new class: how you felt first, how that changed, and what stayed the same.

Reveal a possible response

I was nervous at first. I became calmer after the introduction. The teacher stayed friendly all day.

  • Establish an initial state
  • Describe a change
  • Describe a continuation

Use simple past forms and invented details if preferred.

Take it with you

Get and become can express a change. Stay means a state continues. Choose a natural adjective for the situation.