Is the get‐passive adversative?
Résumé
A new analysis of the get-passive is advocated in the following
paper. It is based on the belief that the study of semantics is fundamental
and prior to the study of syntax.
This initial assumption leads to the postulation of a discrete
number of intuitively-verifiable interpretations of the get-passive
construction in the main section of the article. Natural language
is used as the semantic metalanguage in the analysis of the
passive. Each interpretation is subsequently reduced into less
complex but more readily comprehensible units.
The article begins with an outline of earlier attitudes towards
the use of get, followed by a brief description of several different
kinds of passive constructions in other languages.
An appraisal of two comparatively recent articles that specifically
deal with the get-passive precedes the presentation of the semantic
analysis.