I’m going to “get a shower” is what I said my whole life. Maybe sometimes I would say “grab a shower”. It wasn’t until college that I heard others say “take a shower”. Most recently when I began traveling, I hear people say “have a shower”.
Is it correct to say take a shower, have a shower, or get a shower?
Let me first just come out and say that after my keyword research, I discovered that “take a shower” is most common.
Furthermore, “have a shower” and “get a shower” are not wrong. All three ways of expressing your desire to shower are semantically correct.
According to a study done at The University of Arizona, the words ‘have’, ‘take’, and ‘get’ act as light verbs in this case.
For instance, the verb have functions as a light verb in expressions such as have a rest. The verb is syntactically functional and participates in different conjugations (ie., He is having a rest). However, the expression does not mean ‘to own a rest’. Rather, light verbs are known as ‘helping’ predication of, for instance, complexes (ie., have a rest, take a shower).
― Mercedes Tubino Blanco, Contrasting Causatives: A Minimalist Approach
It seems like it depends on what part of the United States or what part of the world you are from. Like I said, it wasn’t until I went off to college and traveled overseas and met people from the United Kingdom and Australia that I began hearing the expression “take a shower” and “have a shower” respectively.
Take a Shower vs Have a Shower vs Get a Shower
Below is a table that shows how many people search Google every month for the following phrases.
| United States | United Kingdom | Australia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Take a shower | 4,400 | 320 | 170 |
| Have a shower | 10 | 260 | 170 |
| Get a shower | 110 | 10 | 0 |
Although this study is rudimentary, it provides a general overview of the popularity of the phrases in each country. Here are some key takeaways.
- The most popular way to express one’s desire to shower in the United States is “take a shower”
- Significantly more people say “get a shower” than “have a shower” in the United States
- “Have a shower” and “take a shower” are common in the United Kingdom
- Saying “take a shower” is equally as common as “have a shower” in Australia
- The most search volume for “have a shower” was in the United Kingdom
- There is no search volume for “get a shower” in Australia
Do you say take, have, or get a shower? Let me know which one you say the most and where you’re from in the comments below.
4 Responses
Australia = “have a shower” is the usual.
United States = “take a shower” seems to be the norm.
I’ve never heard anyone say “get a shower” though it sounds kind of like rough Aussie slang to me.
I’m Australian and I used to say “have a shower” but “take a shower” sounds more correct I guess.
I also used to say “I suppose so”. Now I say “I guess so”.
It depends which nuances I like as to how I use them so where I’m from doesn’t matter I guess I suppose so.
I’m not sure where you’re getting your info, but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more.
Thanks for magnificent information I was looking for this info for my mission.
I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more.
I made it to Canada to study English. My teacher is also canadien. He said we can use get a shower instead of “take a shower” . To be blunt, I am not good at English. but My teacher who is native speaker said “I sometimes say ‘get a shower'”