get down — make someone sad
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To make someone feel sad, disappointed, or less happy.
Say it like a native
Textbook The persistently grey weather has a depressing effect on me.
Native This grey weather really gets me down.
'Get someone down' is the natural way to say something is depressing you; the formal version is a diary entry.
Pattern: get sb down
In use
- Rainy weather always gets me down.feelings
- Sometimes, too much stress at work can really get people down and affect their motivation.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Don't let it get down you.
✓ Don't let it get you down.
With a pronoun, the object goes in the middle: 'get you down'.
Common collocations
get + person + down— the weather, me down, you down, all the bad news
Don't confuse it
Not to be confused with 'get down to' (start doing something seriously).
Related
- get down (write down) — Another meaning of 'get down' is 'write down'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.