Passive voice and use of get

Question

Hello i have got few queries about passive active voices. Please explain

1. I have recently read that use of verb 'get' in place of 'be' makes sentence informal and get is 

used only in the passive voice structure, is this true?

 

For example , glass got(was) broken

I'm getting (in place of being) better -passive voice (let me know if this is active)

 

-Active voice- i will do this 

Passive - this will get(be) done by me

I will get this done (is this still in passive voice ) as sentence has verb get, please explain if this is active voice

 -I will get going (is this passive or active) 

-they got to complete the task(active or passive)

-they got to be best team(noun) (active or passive)

-I got it(active or passive)

2. Sentence structure

(Are/is/an/was)+verb+ed is passive (present/past simple)

In case if a Noun is used instead of the verb like He is young, I'm fine are these still in passive voice 

3 . When has/have is used as the main verb 

I have a mobile what tense and voice os this

What tense and voice is this

Are past and present participle (have had/had had) used when have is used as the main verb or auxiliary verb , so when to use them

If i say i have worked / i have had worked what is the difference?

4. Is gerund/infinitive/present past participle used when two verbs come in one sentence

He likes working or he likes to work 

Also please explain terms like working experience, costing meaning word(here all the verbs use ing are these verbals gerund/infinitive or noun and when to use them) , work experience vs working experience etc.

Answer 1

An active voice places emphasis on a subject that completing an action (verb) towards something:

Henry (subject) is reading (action) a book (object being affected).

A passive voice emphasizes an action, usually a verb, that is being done to something or the object being affected and puts less emphasis on the subject completing the action:

The book (object being affected) is being read (action) by Henry.

I feel that a better way of describing the exchange of "be" (or words like "was" or "were") for "get" is to say that using "get" can seem to change where the action is coming from, in a way, and give a tiny bit more emphasis to the subject. The sentence usually remains passive. In a passive sentence, emphasis is on the verb or action and less emphasis is on the subject completing that action. Here are some examples:

Terrance was fired. - This sentence is passive because the employer did the firing, but the emphasis is on the action Terrance being fired. This is actually called a stative passive sentence because it states that someone was fired without the use of an action verb (i.e. "firing").

The store manager fired Terrance. - This sentence is active because the emphasis is on the store manager and that is the subject completing the action of firing Terrance.

Another way to make the original sentence sound a little less passive is to change Terrance to the one doing the action, instead of the store manager - this is where "get" and "got" can be useful.

Terrance got fired. - This is an informal passive voice, but it can sound like an active voice to some people because it makes it sound as though Terrance was the cause of himself being fired; however, someone else still fired Terrance - he did not fire himself. The simple change from "was fired" to "got fired" only makes it sound a little different. Emphasis is still NOT on the subject that did the firing.

I will get going. - This is an example of using an active voice, but it sounds a bit informal. The emphasis is on you and you are the one who "will [go]", so you are the subject. Since emphasis is on the subject, it is an active voice.

They got to complete the assignment on time. - This is an active voice because the emphasis is on the subject(s) "They". This sentence is very informal and could be phrased much better. It would be better to phrase this as:

They must complete the assignment on time OR They were able to complete the assignment on time.

They got to be best team. - This is a very informal sentence, but the emphasis is on the subject, so this uses an active voice. This is not a sentence that should be formally written because the grammar and syntax are far less than ideal. It would be clearer if it were written as: They became the best team.

I got it. - This is informal, but it is an example of an active voice. A better sentence would be: I've got it.

I got the book. - This is also using an active voice because the subject is "I" and the verb is "got" and implies something that you did to something else, the book. The use of got in this sentence is different from the got used in passive sentences because you can replace it with the word "attained" or "acquired" and it will still make sense. You cannot say "I attained fired." or "I acquired fired." without sounding strange, but you can say "I attained it." or "I acquired the book.". Next time you want to decide if a sentence beginning with a subject and followed by got is active or passive, try switching the word "got" with "acquired" or "attained"; if the sentence still makes sense, it is probably an active sentence, but if it does NOT make sense, it is probably passive.

I am tall. - As far as I can tell, this cannot have a passive voice because no one caused you to be tall.

I have a mobile. - This sounds like an active voice because the subject is first and is the one who has a mobile.

He likes working. AND He likes to work. - Some verbs can be followed by a gerund OR an infinitive and both of these are correct.

She has a lot of work experience. - This sentence says that she has a lot of experience. What does she have experience with? Work. This would be a better choice for a job application. Here is an example that is easier to understand:

She has work knowledge. - She has knowledge. What does she have knowledge of? Work.

She has working knowledge. - She has knowledge that works or is useful.

I hope this helps. :)