On Mon, 5 Feb 1996, Michael Kischner wrote:
 
> Would people agree that this sentence is in the passive voice?
>
>        I get paid a large sum each month.
>
> So "get" is a permissible alternative to "be" in passive constructions?
 
"permissible" is a difficult word here.  Of course, it's permissible;
who'd want to or could forbid it.  But I don't think it's part of the
prestige dialect.  'get'+past participle will probably be felt to be
non-standard by many speakers.  A very informal style might tolerate it.
OTOH, in response to grammar checker's flagging passives, students often
use the 'get' + past participle construction, because grammar checkers
will ignore it.
 
 
> And would people agree that in the following sentence "much" is the
> object of the verb (here a retained object, if the construction is indeed
> passive):
>
>        I get paid very much for my work.
>
> So "very" is here an adjective modifying the noun "much"?
 
I'd assume an understood noun 'money,' 'salary,' 'fringe
benefits'--whatever.  The understood part of the sentence would probably
come clear in context.
 
> Do other people find that their dream life tends to invade the sentences
> they make up for examples?
 
Yes, and my sob-conscious wishes-- I mean, like--you know, Freud would
have a heyday with me.  I'd probably have a ubiquity of yonic and phallic
allusions if I'm not immensely on guard. <grin>  [No, don't notify the
Ethics Committee, please . . . I'm kidding; really, I'm kidding.]
 
==Cheerio, Reinhold
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                         Dr. Reinhold Schlieper
Humanities Department                              500 Shadow Lakes Boulevard
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Phone: 904-226-6664                                       Phone: 904-676-9392
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