get down to — start focusing on
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to begin giving serious attention or effort to something, especially after a delay or distraction.
Say it like a native
Textbook We ought to commence serious work on the project now.
Native Right, let's get down to work.
'Get down to' is the natural phrase for buckling down; 'commence serious work on' is ceremonial.
Pattern: get down to + noun/gerund
In use
- After chatting for a while, we finally got down to business.daily life
- In my opinion, when students get down to studying early, they usually achieve better results.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ It's time to get down to study.
✓ It's time to get down to studying. / get down to work.
'Get down to' takes a noun or '-ing', not a bare verb.
Common collocations
get down to + task— business, work, the details, it
Don't confuse it
Do not confuse with 'get down' (to lower yourself physically or to dance). 'Get down to' always involves starting to focus on a task.