Get Hitched vs. Got Hitched – Which is Correct?
“Get hitched” and “got hitched” are both correct American English expressions, but they serve different grammatical purposes. “Get hitched” refers to marrying in the present, future, or as an infinitive, while “got hitched” describes a completed marriage in the past. Choose based on whether the marriage is planned, happening, or completed.
Get Hitched or Got Hitched – Which is Correct?
Get hitched and got hitched are both correct expressions. The difference is grammatical: get is the base or present form of the verb, while got is its simple past form.
Get hitched usually describes a wedding that is planned, currently taking place, or discussed as a general possibility. Got hitched describes a wedding that already happened. Both expressions are informal and conversational; in formal writing, get married or got married is usually more appropriate.
The Best Trick to Remember the Difference
Use a timeline trick: get hitched points forward or describes the action generally, while got hitched points backward to a completed event. If you can add “will,” “plan to,” or “want to,” use get hitched: “They plan to get hitched.” If you can add “yesterday,” “last year,” or “already,” use got hitched: “They got hitched last year.”
| Word | Part of Speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| get hitched | Verb phrase | To marry; a present, future, or infinitive form | They plan to get hitched in June. |
| got hitched | Verb phrase | Married; a completed past action | They got hitched in June. |
How to Use Get Hitched
Get hitched is an informal verb phrase meaning “get married.” It can appear after modal verbs, in infinitive constructions, in commands, or in the present tense. It often suggests a future wedding or discusses marriage in a casual, lighthearted way.
Use get hitched when the wedding has not happened yet, when it is happening now, or when you are referring to marriage as an action without assigning it to a completed past event.
Example 1: Mia and Carlos are going to get hitched on the beach this fall.
Example 2: After years of dating, they finally decided to get hitched.
Example 3: The couple wants to get hitched before moving abroad.
What are the Different Forms of Get Hitched?
The phrase changes according to the form of the verb get. The base form is get hitched, the present-tense third-person form is gets hitched, the past form is got hitched, and the past participle is gotten hitched in American English when used with have or has. The present participle is getting hitched.
- Base or infinitive: They want to get hitched.
- Present tense: She gets hitched in the final scene.
- Past tense: They got hitched last spring.
- Present perfect: They have gotten hitched in a small ceremony.
- Present participle: They are getting hitched today.
Etymology of the Word Get Hitched
Get comes from Old Norse and other Germanic language roots and has developed many meanings in English, including “become” or “enter a new state.” Hitched is the past participle of hitch, a word associated with fastening or attaching something. The expression likely developed from the idea of two people being fastened together in marriage. It became a familiar informal phrase for getting married, especially in American English.
How to Use Got Hitched
Got hitched is the simple past form of the expression and means “got married.” Use it when the wedding was completed at a definite or understood time in the past. It is common in casual conversation, personal writing, entertainment reporting, and humorous descriptions of weddings.
The phrase is more relaxed than got married. It can sound cheerful, playful, or slightly old-fashioned depending on the context, so it may not be suitable for formal announcements or official documents.
Example 1: My grandparents got hitched in 1962.
Example 2: The actors got hitched after a private ceremony in California.
Example 3: We got hitched last weekend and celebrated with our closest friends.
What are the Different Forms of Got Hitched?
Got hitched is specifically the simple past form. It does not change for different subjects: I got hitched, she got hitched, and they got hitched are all grammatically correct.
For other tenses, use the appropriate form of get. For example, have gotten hitched is the American English present perfect form, while are getting hitched describes a wedding in progress or an arrangement viewed as ongoing.
Etymology of the Word Got Hitched
Got hitched combines the past tense of the Germanic verb get with hitched, which comes from hitch, meaning to fasten or attach. The figurative connection is that marriage joins or attaches two people to one another. The phrase has long been used as an informal synonym for getting married.
Related Concepts
Understanding verb tense and register makes it easier to choose between get hitched and got hitched.
- Verb tense: Verb tense shows when an action occurs. Get can refer to the present or future, while got marks a completed action in the past.
- Infinitive phrases: The form to get hitched uses the infinitive and commonly follows verbs such as plan, want, decide, and hope.
- Informal idioms: An idiom is an expression whose meaning is understood as a whole. Get hitched does not usually mean physically fastening something; it means getting married.
- Register: Register refers to how formal or informal language sounds. Get hitched and got hitched are casual, whereas get married and got married work in a wider range of settings.
Examples from Media and Literature
Writers and speakers often use these expressions to create a relaxed, humorous, or celebratory tone.
- Romantic comedies: A character may say, “We’re going to get hitched,” when announcing an upcoming wedding or making a spontaneous marriage plan.
- Television wedding episodes: Friends or family members may describe a couple by saying, “They got hitched,” after the ceremony has taken place.
- News and entertainment coverage: Informal headlines may use got hitched to report that a celebrity couple married privately.
- Country and folk storytelling: Lyrics and narratives frequently use get hitched as a playful alternative to get married.
- Personal memoirs: A narrator might write, “My parents got hitched during the summer of 1975,” to describe a completed event in family history.
Get Hitched Synonyms
| Synonym | Definition |
|---|---|
| get married | To enter into marriage; the standard and broadly appropriate alternative |
| tie the knot | An informal idiom meaning to get married |
| wed | To marry; a concise and somewhat literary alternative |
| walk down the aisle | To participate in a wedding ceremony, often implying marriage |
Got Hitched Synonyms
| Synonym | Definition |
|---|---|
| got married | Entered into marriage in the past; the clearest standard alternative |
| tied the knot | An informal expression meaning married |
| wed | Married; a brief, formal, or literary alternative |
| were married | A more formal way to state that two people entered marriage |
Frequently Asked Questions
Question 1: Is “get hitched” grammatically correct?
Yes. Get hitched is a grammatically correct informal expression meaning “get married.” Use it for present, future, or infinitive constructions, such as “They plan to get hitched.”
Question 2: Is “got hitched” grammatically correct?
Yes. Got hitched is the simple past form of the phrase. Use it when the marriage already happened, as in “They got hitched last year.”
Question 3: Is “get hitched” formal English?
It is standard but informal English. For a formal wedding invitation, legal document, business announcement, or professional communication, use get married, will marry, or were married instead.
Question 4: Can “got hitched” refer to the future?
No. In ordinary English, got hitched refers to a completed past event. For a future wedding, say “will get hitched,” “are going to get hitched,” or “plan to get hitched.”
Question 5: What is the difference between “got hitched” and “tied the knot”?
Both are informal expressions meaning “got married.” The main difference is wording: got hitched uses the verb get, while tied the knot is a separate idiom. Both normally describe a completed marriage when used in the past tense.
Conclusion
Get hitched and got hitched are both correct, but they do not mean exactly the same thing grammatically. Use get hitched for a present, future, or general reference to marriage, and use got hitched for a wedding that happened in the past. Pro Tip: Choose get married or got married in formal or professional writing to avoid an overly casual tone.
