Get close means to come near something or someone, and about people, to become close friends. When you are talking about a goal, it means to almost achieve it: we got close to the target. For friendship, use it with no object or with to and a person: I got close to my cousin last summer.
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get close to + place/person; get close to + -ing (almost do); get close (to each other)
- Don't get too close to the edge; the rocks are slippery after the rain.
- Anna and I got close during our first year at university.
- We got close to finishing the project on time, but the client changed the design.
What changed
First versionOur team got close to win the contract, but the price was too high.
RevisionOur team got close to winning the contract, but the price was too high.
Here to is not the to that comes before a verb, as in to win; it is part of close to, meaning near. So it is followed by a noun or an -ing form, as in close to the door or close to winning. Because to so often comes before a plain verb, close to win can look right, but it is a mistake.
Get close describes the moment people become close, while be close describes a friendship that already exists: We got close at university, and we're still close. For almost achieving something, people also often say come close to: She came close to breaking the record.
Your turn
The birds flew away every time we tried to ___ them.
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get close to — You need to before the person or thing you are approaching: get close to them. Get close them is ungrammatical. If you want a verb without a preposition, use approach: tried to approach them.
Write about someone you became close to on a trip, at university or at work. Say where you met and what brought you together.
I met Lena on a hiking trip in Georgia, and we got close because we shared a tent for a week.
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