How is 'get' being used in these sentences?

What grammar structure is this?

  1. Bob got/had me drunk.
  2. She's got me spending.
  3. Get moving!
  4. Get going!
  5. That music gets/has me dancing!
  6. He had/got me stumped.
  7. She had/got me stoned.

Is it possible to say: She has/had me spending?


Solution 1:

Got can be used as an auxiliary verb meaning

reach or cause to reach a specified state or condition

  • [with object and complement]: I need to get my hair cut

  • [as auxiliary verb] used with past participle to form the passive mood: the cat got drowned

  • [with object and past participle] cause to be treated in a specified way: get the form signed by a doctor [got met drunk; [has] got me stumped; got me stoned]

  • [with object and infinitive] induce or prevail upon (someone) to do something: they got her to sign the consent form

  • [no object, with infinitive] have the opportunity to do:he got to try out a few of these nice new cars

  • [no object, with present participle or infinitive] begin to be or do something, especially gradually or by chance: we got talking one evening [got me spending; get going; gets me dancing]

While have is a much used helping verb, some of your proposed constructions do work and some do not.

OK:

He had me stumped.

That music has me dancing.

She had me spending [but probably would not be used without additional modifiers, such as like a drunken sailor]

Not OK:

Bob had me drunk.

She had me stoned.

Solution 2:

Get and have are both auxiliary verbs like be, so their choice depends on the constructions they're in. Plus, get is related to both be and have -- it's the inchoative verb form for both of these auxiliaries.

Get is an inchoative verb, originally meaning come to have; therefore it's usable in many constructions with have:

  • He has a new car ~ He came to have a new car ~ He got a new car.
  • He has finished it ~ He has it finished ~ He'll get it finished.

Get also means come to be and is therefore also usable in many be constructions.

  • He married her ~ He was married to her ~ He got married to her.
  • He works on that ~ He is working on that ~ He got working on that.

Get can also, like most inchoatives, be used as a Causative, e.g, cause to come to be

  • The wiring is fixed ~ The wiring got fixed ~ He got the wiring fixed.
  • He is working on that ~ He got working on that ~ I got him going on that.

That's the source of most of the get examples in the original question.

Have, however, is another story altogether. There are a number of have constructions, including a volitional causative which also works with get:

  • He had the floors polished ~ He got the floors polished.

and a different construction of the same shape that implies bad fortune, and also works with get:

  • He had his tires slashed ~ He got his tires slashed.

and a sense in which it refers to success of a goal, and effectively means cause or make; get works here, also, but requires infinitives with to.

  • He had us dancing/dance on the table ~ He got us dancing/to dance on the table.
  • I had him see his advisor about that ~ I got him to see his advisor about that.

Finally, if you can say

  • I am spending

then you can say

  • She's got me spending

or

  • She has me spending.

in any tense of have or get, if you mean that she is the cause of your spending.