Laws that punish parents for their little children’s actions against the laws get parents _____.
A. worried
B. to worry
C. worrying
D. worry
The answer is A
I often read of get something done / get something doing. Could you tell me what’s the difference between A and C here? Or simply, could C be possible?
Many many thanks in advance.
Hi,
‘Get’ in the sense you are suggesting is required when you get someone to act for you as in:
She got the house painted.
Alan
Thank you, but I am sorry I haven’t quite followed you.
Laws get parents worried. (I understand that parents are worried.)
Laws get parents worrying. (?) ( Doesn’t it mean parents begin to worry/ or are worrying?)
Hi,
It would be unusual to use ‘get+worrying’. The usual construction would be: ‘get+worried’ as in the expression: You’ve really got me worried. When ‘get’ is used with the ‘ing’ form, it is usually more concerned with an activity/process as in: Let’s get things moving/They got me doing all sorts of jobs/She’s got 30 people working for her. If you wanted to use ‘worrying’ I think you need to turn this into some sort of ‘activity’ rather than simply a state of ‘being worried’. I would think this is acceptable:
Now that you’ve mentioned that, you’ve got me worrying about the additional costs.
Alan
Many many thanks!