The present article is a corpus-based study of the get-passive in British English. The theoretical part focuses on the general characteristics of the get-passive, pointing out the differences between the be- and the get-passive. The empirical part analyzes 100 examples of passive constructions with get, excerpted from the Araneum Anglicum Minus corpus, from syntactic-semantic and pragmatic aspects. Our study shows that the get-passive proves to be a dynamic construction, occurring almost exclusively with dynamic verbs. Next, the subject of get-passives tends to have an agentive role, rather than the role of an affected participant. Finally, the analysis demonstrates that the get-passive occurs most frequently in situations with either an adverse or beneficial effect on the subject or person concerned. The article provides a syntactic-semantic analysis of English get-passives and aims to contribute to a more detailed description of this passive construction in contemporary British English.
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