get through — make phone contact
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To succeed in making contact with someone by phone.
Say it like a native
Textbook I was unable to establish telephone contact with the office.
Native I couldn't get through to the office.
'Get through to' is the natural phrase for reaching someone by phone; 'establish telephone contact' is bureaucratic.
Pattern: get through (to someone)
In use
- I tried calling her all morning but couldn't get through.communication
- Sometimes it's difficult to get through to customer service during busy hours.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I called all day but couldn't get through the office.
✓ I called all day but couldn't get through to the office.
To reach a person by phone, it's 'get through TO' them. Without 'to', it means finish a task.
Common collocations
get through to + person— to the office, to her, to support, on the phone
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'call back,' which means to return a call.
Related
- get through (finish a difficult task) — Another meaning of 'get through' is 'finish a difficult task'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.