You're in a band. You've been looking for your guitar, and are surprised to discover that your bandmate is playing it. You're angry that he took the guitar without asking you first. You say:
You can't just go around using people's stuff without their permission!
Your teenage son has been hanging out with a group of older guys who you don't like: they're rude, lazy, and like to start fights with people. You tell your son:
I don't like you running around with that crowd.
Your dog is chewing your shoe. You want to tell her to stop, so you angrily say:
Bad girl! Let go of that!
angry, getting in trouble, pet Your daughter got a bad grade on her first progress report for this school year. You're asking her why, and she complains that her teacher isn't very good. You're angry that she is blaming the grade on the teacher instead of herself. You say:
I don't want to hear any excuses. You need to take responsibility for yourself.
Your 14-year-old son took your car and drove it around your neighborhood. He got caught by the police, and how you've gone to the police station to pick him up. You are so angry, and you're going to punish him later when you get home. You say:
You are in SO much trouble.
Your 14-year-old son took your car and was driving around the town. He got caught by the police. When you go to pick him up at the police station, you're extremely angry. You say:
What the hell were you thinking?
Your daughter wanted to go on an overnight trip with her friends to see a concert in another city. You told her she couldn't go, but she bought tickets to the concert anyway. On that day, she lied and said that she was studying late with her friend. When you find out about this, you are very angry and yell at her. You say:
You not only disobeyed me, you lied to me and betrayed my trust.
You're a teenager and you stayed out late the night before without calling your parents to tell them. They were angry and yelled at you. The next day at school, you tell your friend that you were out with:
I got yelled at for not calling.
For actions that other people do to you, you can use "got ___ed". Usually this structure suggests that the action was negative:
I got yelled at.
I got punished.
He got thrown in jail.
For positive actions, it's more common to use the "was ___ed" form:
I was praised for my presentation to the board.
When you use this structure, remember to include the words like "at" which go along with the verb.
"Not doing" something is the opposite of "doing something". This is a good casual way of talking about something that you didn't do. More formal ways to describe it are "for failing to (do something)" and "for neglecting to (do something)."
gerund, getting in trouble, parents, passive, simple past 