student asking question

Does the meaning change if I change "have" to "get" or "take"? Please tell me the difference in nuance.

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

There are differences between these three verbs. To "have" something implies possession. When the speaker says "you have control over it," he is stating that the power of having control is something that is intrinsic, or possessed already by a person. Replacing "have" with "get" or "take" changes the meaning of the sentence. These two words imply that effort is needed by the subject, that "control" is something that must be taken and not a power that the person already holds. Because the theme of the talk is about how people can change their ways of thinking, which is internal, "have" is most appropriate in this context.

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