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Formal English does not contain the word “get”. There are two reasons. First, “get” is considered poor style in a scientific manuscript. Second, the clarity of a sentence will always be improved by omitting “get” or by replacing it with more suitable words such as “have”, “receive”, “obtain”, “possess” or “become”. Similarly, phrases containing “get” can usually be replaced by a single word that more exactly expresses the idea. For example, there are several alternatives to “get rid of” (delete, eliminate, omit, remove) and to “get better” (ameliorate, improve, recover).

Here are two sentences that illustrate the problem.

“My supervisor got excited when I got some results using samples I got from Africa. However, she got angry when she got to know that I had got hold of them illegally.”

The improved text appears much more formal when “got” is omitted (after “samples”) or replaced.

“My supervisor became excited when I obtained some results using samples from Africa. However, she grew angry when she found out that I had acquired them illegally.”