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Question get there VS arrive there

hirashin

Sempai
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8 Apr 2004
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Hello, native English speakers,
according to Google Ngram, "get there" is used far more often than "arrive there". Is "arrive there" rarely used? Would it sound unnatural?

Would only (a) be used ?
(a) Meet me at JR Osaka Station. I'll get there at around three.
(b) Meet me at JR Osaka Station. I'll arrive there at around three.

Hirashin
 
Also Hirashin, you can think "get there" = "arrive". Arrive means get somewhere. You could use arrive by itself and it would make sense, but not get by itself, i.e you could say I arrived at 3 o'clock but not I got at 3 o'clock, hence get there is necessary, but there is already included in the meaning of arrive, so arrive there sounds strange and un-natural.
 
Thanks for the further information,Michael2.
Is it that you can say that "Meet me at JR Osaka Station. I'll arrive at around three"?
 
@Michael2 is correct, above.

For this: "Meet me at JR Osaka Station. I'll arrive (at) around three," I'd say at is optional.

Alternatively, you could say, "... I'll get there (at) around three."
 
Thanks for the help, johnnyG.
How about these? Can you use "about" instead of "around" in this case?
I'll get there (at) about three. / I'll arrive (at) about three.
 
I'll get there (at) about three. / I'll arrive (at) about three.

Those are fine. But at seems "heavy" (even in the above examples)--I think you would hear it occasionally from natives, and including/using it is not really wrong, but the sentences/examples sound better without it.
 
Yes, your sentences are all fine Hirashin.
Ha, I had this discussion on another thread Johnny G, a few months ago. I would argue that grammatically you should undeniably use at as well as about/around, because at is the preposition, and you need a preposition. Around and about are not propositions here, they are modifying 3 o'clock. It's obvious why so many people drop it though, I do too, though I'm not sure that's not because I spent over 10 years in Japan, in all honesty speaking slightly dodgy English sometimes, and having lots of other Englishes rub off on me. Now I'm back in England it sounds lazy to me.
 
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