Question

What does the phrase “get over” mean in this context? I got over the flu and now my brother has it.
A) Jump over
B) Recover
C) Finish
D) Got up

Answer 1

Hint:
- The meaning of different phrases or words is highly dependent on contexts.
- The phrasal verb means to overcome something that has happened to oneself.
- Some synonyms of the word include bounce back, traverse, recuperate etc.

Complete answer:
A phrasal verb can be understood as the mingling of two or three words from diverse grammatical fields – a verb and a particle, i.e an adverb or a preposition – to form a single semantic unit on a lexical or syntactic level in English traditional grammar. Put up, bring down, and clean up are some examples. There are tens of thousands of them, and they are used on a daily basis. These semantic units cannot be understood solely by the meanings of their constituent parts but must be viewed as a whole.
The meaning of the quoted phrase is “To get better after an illness”.

Let us analyze the given options:
A) The phrasal verb jumps over or jump on means criticizing someone which is not apt for the given sentence. Thus, Option A is incorrect.
B) The meaning of the word recover is a return to a normal state of health, mind or strength. This suits the meaning given in the sentence. Hence, Option B is correct.
C) The word finish can mean the end of something which is also not accurate in the given sentence. Thus, Option C is also incorrect.
D) The meaning of the word got up is rising up or arose. It does not fit the phrasal verb get over in this context. Thus, Option D is also incorrect.

Therefore the correct answer is option ‘B’.

Note:
- There are at least three types of phrasal verb constructions based on whether the verb is combined with a preposition, a particle, or both.
- Compound verbs are used to represent phrasal verbs in many languages.
- Criteria based on idiomaticity, replacement by a single-word verb, particle movement and wh-question formation distinguish phrasal verbs from other classifications of multi-word verbs and free combinations.