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What's the meaning of "get to do something"?

I get to spend a lot of time with you and the kids.

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20

To "get to do" something means that you are enabled or given the opportunity to do something.

Example 1 - A circumstance or choice enables you to do something:

Why do you work at home?

I get to spend a lot of time with you and the kids.

Example 2 - Being given an opportunity:

Has anything good come out of this week-long snowstorm?

I get to spend a lot of time with you and the kids.

Sometimes this phrase is used sarcastically to mean "I am being forced to do something that I don't want to do". For example:

I get to grade 40 tests this weekend!

should be interpreted as something along the lines of

I'd rather be doing something else, but I must grade 40 tests this weekend.

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    Your last example is a sarcastic form of 'I have to grade 40 tests...'.
    – marcellothearcane
    Commented Sep 24, 2019 at 4:41
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In this context it means have the opportunity to:

I have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with you and the kids.

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http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/get
21: to succeed, become enabled, or be permitted: You get to meet a lot of interesting people.

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  • So it is the same as "I can spend a lot of time with you and the kids"?
    – an0
    Commented Mar 12, 2011 at 17:56
  • @an0 yes, you are enabled or permitted to spend the time
    – mplungjan
    Commented Mar 13, 2011 at 16:47
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That would simply mean that, You are now able to do it.

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2

To 'get to do something' means that you are given a chance/opportunity to do that thing.
There are bunch of replacements for it such as to be given a green light, be enabled to, be opened doors to doing.

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    I understand that "sth" is short for "something" and that "=" means "is equivalent to" or "means," but I have no idea what "L=:" means—and in any case I don't understand why in such a short answer you don't just spell all the words out and then use special formatting (such as italics or quotation marks) to identify words or phrases (such as "get to do something") that are to be defined or explained.
    – Sven Yargs
    Commented Oct 16, 2016 at 7:00

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