I'd say you were right that the "get" passive is always pretty informal.

I am always amused by the "get married" phrasing.  The 'got' passive is 
usually adversative--besides being quite informal--in English.  That 
is, it usually means something bad happened to the subject.  I suppose 
this reflects a deeply held cultural ambivalence towards marriage!

Compare

I got slammed on the curve. (Okay, if informal)

and

I got sent a check for $200 by my grandmother.  (Pretty unlikely, 
besides being informal.  Most people regard checks as a good thing.)

I think there is a difference in meaning between "she got married" and 
"she is married."  If you just use the latter, the wedding ceremony 
could have been five decades ago; I think the most likely 
interpretation for "she got married" would be that the wedding ceremony 
was relatively recent--at least since the last time you asked about 
her.)

I wonder if the "got passive" can be analyzed as a verb plus passive 
participle construction/

Kathleen Ward
UC Davis


On Nov 25, 2005, at 2:59 PM, Cynthia Baird wrote:

> I would like some feedback on the correct usage of "got."
>  
> I was always taught that "got" is a no-no in good writing,
>  
>  
> For example, writers and speakers frequently say "she got married," 
> when it seems to me that "she married" is adequate.  Besides, how does 
> one analyze "got married"?  Some type of compound verb/verb particle 
> combination? 
>  
> Thanks
>  
>  
>
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