English Grammar Related Question
"Don't get held up at the party!" is the sentence that I'm trying to analyze.

1. Why are there two verbs sitting next to each other (get + held up)?
2. Why are we using the past simple (held up) in this case?

Any suggestions/ explanations would be really appreciated! Thank you!

Question

English Grammar Related Question
"Don't get held up at the party!" is the sentence that I'm trying to analyze.

1. Why are there two verbs sitting next to each other (get + held up)?
2. Why are we using the past simple (held up) in this case?

Any suggestions/ explanations would be really appreciated! Thank you!

Answer

It's not past simple but present simple passive.  The meaning is similar to:
"Don't be held up (delayed) at the party (by the other guests)".

You can use the verb "get" instead of "be" in informal situations.  The verb "get" here emphasises the sense of a completed process but the meaning is close to "be".

This is a standard grammar topic and so you should be able to find many explanations of it. For example, see http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/passive/get-passive

Answers · 2

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