get over — accept mentally
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutralcommon
To come to terms with or accept a difficult fact, idea, or situation, especially when it is surprising or hard to believe.
Say it like a native
Textbook I find it difficult to accept how much the city has changed.
Native I can't get over how much the city's changed.
'I can't get over...' is the natural way to express amazement or disbelief; the formal version flattens it.
Pattern: get over + noun (abstract/concept)
In use
- I just can't get over how quickly she solved that complex problem.psychology
- Many people find it hard to get over the fact that technology is changing traditional jobs at such a rapid pace.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I can't get over of how big it is.
✓ I can't get over how big it is.
'Get over' takes the clause directly — no 'of'.
Common collocations
can't get over + fact— how much, how big, it, the change
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B1 sense of 'get over' (recovering from illness or disappointment), this sense is about mentally processing and accepting a fact or situation, not about emotional or physical recovery.
Related
- get over (recover from) — 'get over' also has the more basic meaning 'recover from'; this is the advanced sense.