2

These are from dictionaries, and it is hard to distinguish "make somebody/something + adj" and "get somebody/something + adj" and grammar books seldom talk about them

Get

18 MAKE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING BECOME SOMETHING [transitive] to make someone or something change to a new feeling, situation, or state

Sometimes she gets me so angry!

Don’t get the children too excited.

He was terrified of getting her pregnant.

It took them 15 minutes to get the boat ready.

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make

make somebody/something/yourself + adj. to cause somebody/something to feel, show or have a particular quality; to cause somebody/something to be or become something

The news made him very happy.

She made her objections clear.

Technology promises to make our lives easier.

He made it clear that he objected.

The full story was never made public.

What is the difference "I made him angry" and "I got him angry"?

1 Answer 1

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I made him angry.

Making him angry may not have been your intention. You may have said or done something and, even though it wasn't something you expected, it made him angry.

I got him angry.

Getting him angry may have been your intention all along. You wanted him angry, and you got him angry.

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  • 2
    I don't think it generalizes, this one is more idiomatic.
    – Barmar
    Commented Jan 19, 2021 at 5:11
  • 1
    E.g. "I made him eat" means you forced someone to eat.
    – Barmar
    Commented Jan 19, 2021 at 5:12
  • 1
    @Barmar: Whereas "I got him to eat" could mean "I coaxed him into having breakfast." Stands to reason.
    – Ricky
    Commented Jan 19, 2021 at 5:13
  • 1
    @Tom: "I made my dress dirty" sounds a bit awkward, not to mention ambiguous. "I got my dress dirty" sounds ok.
    – Ricky
    Commented Jan 19, 2021 at 5:14
  • 1
    @Tom: Could be. However, I take my previous comment back. A dress is an inanimate object. Making a LIVING BEING do something means, by and large, FORCING them to do it. Getting a living being to do something is using a variety of means (i.e. not necessarily using force). It's more complicated with inanimate objects.
    – Ricky
    Commented Jan 19, 2021 at 5:39

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