'I was stolen my wallet' 'My wallet was stolen'

wotcha · Jul 10, 2010

1. I was stolen my wallet

2. My wallet was stolen.

Are the both correct?

2006 · Jul 10, 2010

wotcha said:
1. I was stolen my wallet :cross:

2. My wallet was stolen. :tick:

2006

Rover_KE · Jul 10, 2010

You can also say 'I had my wallet stolen'.

Rover

ollieacappella · Jul 10, 2010

Rover_KE said:
You can also say 'I had my wallet stolen'.

Would "My wallet was stolen" be better? I was explaining the causative in the passive voice to some students the other day, and concluded that saying "I had my [object] [past participle]" implied that your permission was given.

For example, "Our house was painted" means that at one point the house was one colour, and at another point after that it was a different colour. Permission was not necessarily given - you may have simply woken up to find your house a different colour! On the other hand, "We had our house painted" means that we asked somebody (i.e. gave them permission) to paint our house, and he/she did.

I've heard "I've had my [object] stolen" before, but, all of a sudden, using this analysis it no longer makes sense!

wotcha · Jul 10, 2010

ollieacappella said:
Would "My wallet was stolen" be better? I was explaining the causative in the passive voice to some students the other day, and concluded that saying "I had my [object] [past participle]" implied that your permission was given.

For example, "Our house was painted" means that at one point the house was one colour, and at another point after that it was a different colour. Permission was not necessarily given - you may have simply woken up to find your house a different colour! On the other hand, "We had our house painted" means that we asked somebody (i.e. gave them permission) to paint our house, and he/she did.

I've heard "I've had my [object] stolen" before, but, all of a sudden, using this analysis it no longer makes sense!

Then.. how about 'I got my wallet stolen?' Does it sound same as 'I had my wallet stolen?' or Does it not make sense?

RonBee · Jul 10, 2010

I would stick with My wallet was stolen. I had my wallet stolen suggests to me that the speaker got somebody to steal his wallet.

ollieacappella · Jul 10, 2010

wotcha said:
Then.. how about 'I got my wallet stolen?' Does it sound same as 'I had my wallet stolen?' or Does it not make sense?

Using "got" isn't as common for the causative as "had". I personally try to avoid the verb "to get" at all costs anyway because I think it is overused and it is too hard to translate!

I'm not a teacher, by the way.

kfredson · Jul 10, 2010

ollieacappella said:
Would "My wallet was stolen" be better? I was explaining the causative in the passive voice to some students the other day, and concluded that saying "I had my [object] [past participle]" implied that your permission was given.

For example, "Our house was painted" means that at one point the house was one colour, and at another point after that it was a different colour. Permission was not necessarily given - you may have simply woken up to find your house a different colour! On the other hand, "We had our house painted" means that we asked somebody (i.e. gave them permission) to paint our house, and he/she did.

I've heard "I've had my [object] stolen" before, but, all of a sudden, using this analysis it no longer makes sense!

Yes, it does sound illogical to say, "I had my wallet stolen" in place of "My wallet was stolen." Perhaps it is illogical. Nevertheless, it is a common phrase and is readily understood.
"I knew I shouldn't have gone to that wild nightclub last night and, sure enough, I had my wallet stolen."

'I was stolen my wallet' 'My wallet was stolen'

wotcha

Senior Member

2006

Key Member

Rover_KE

Moderator

ollieacappella

Member

wotcha

Senior Member

RonBee

Moderator

ollieacappella

Member

kfredson

Senior Member

Similar threads