I'm just wondering between 'go to work' and 'get to work'.
Today, I was working and one of my coworker was talking to me.
But I was so busy so just told him 'go to work~'
and he said 'I'm already here, you have to say 'get to work'.
because he knows I'm studying English so he tries to teach me English sometimes.
Anyway, what's the difference between them? Could anybody explain meaning of 'get to' in this sentence?
And I also want to know some other sentences using 'get to' to fully understand.
Best Answer
Understand first that both "go to work" and "get to work" have multiple meanings. Both can refer to the process of traveling to your place of work. Both also mean "start working".
In the context of traveling, the difference is similar to the English use of "go" vs. "come". If I say I need to go to work then I picture myself moving toward my place of work. If instead I say I need to get to work then I picture myself already at work and the fact that I am not actually where I should be.
In terms of the second meaning, the difference is similarly subtle. "Go to work" is used when starting a project, while "get to work" can be used anytime to mean either "start work" or "work harder".
Which to use can vary with context:
Note without any additional context, simply using "went to work" instead of "got to work" implies the process had just started. I could instead say:
which would not necessarily change the meaning, but it also would not as strongly imply that it was just the start of the process.
In the example with your coworker, since it's assumed that he was already working and stopped to chat with you, then "get to work" is correct. Although, it probably would have been even more appropriate to say "get back to work":