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Rules›Be, get and state passives
B1

Be, get and state passives

Get + past participle marks an event that happens to someone, often informal: He got fired. Be + past participle marks the state that an earlier event leaves: The door is closed.

  1. events that happen to someone

    When to use it
    Get passive marks an event with informal, event-focused meaning.
    Get + past participle works across different tenses.
    Get passive replaces be passive in everyday, event-focused speech.
    Get passive does not fit a neutral state or formal process language.
    Common get passive chunks include get married and get stuck.
    Event markers like suddenly and last week go with get passive.

    Build an example

    Subject
    Past participle
    Hegotmarried

    He got married in June.

    Get married is a common get passive chunk; learn it whole.

    Signal words
    suddenlylast weekby accidentin the endat workduring the game
    Common mistake
    He got fire last week.He got fired last week.
    After get, use a past participle, not a base verb.
    ✗ Get passive is only for bad things.
    ✓ It often appears with bad events, but not only. You can say She got promoted or They got invited too.