Getting operations

Status
Not open for further replies.

namloan

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Vietnam
1. He's very scared of getting operations because he's very afraid of injection needles.

Does this sentence sound grammatical and natural to say?

Thank you so much
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
1. He's very scared of getting operations because he's very afraid of injection needles.

Does this sentence sound grammatical and natural to say?

Thank you so much
We have operations, we don't get them.
 

SoothingDave

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
There are many, many opportunities for doctors to stick needles in you even if you do not have an operation.

Also, "injection needles" is redundant. If you are talking about medical procedures, saying you have a fear of needles is enough.
 

namloan

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Vietnam
Mr SoothingDave and bhaisahab!

- In this situation I have to rewrite like this, right? :-D

"He's very scared of having operations because he's very afraid of needles / he has a fear of needles / he fears needle"

Thank you so much
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
Mr SoothingDave and bhaisahab!

- In this situation I have to rewrite like this, right? :-D

"He's very scared of having operations because he's very afraid of needles / he has a fear of needles / he fears needles"

Thank you so much
Yes, that's right.
 

crazYgeeK

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Vietnamese
Home Country
Vietnam
Current Location
Vietnam
I don't understand what you're asking. :-?

I mean we don't want any operations, so we say "we have operations" not "we get operations", is it right?
Thank you so much!
 

nyota

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Australia
I mean we don't want any operations, so we say "we have operations" not "we get operations", is it right?
Thank you so much!

.......................
I'm not a teacher
.......................

In this particular example it seems it's just a matter of collocation.


Interestingly enough, you use the formula with "have a something" when the pleasure of the subject and no particular purpose are involved (that's not the only way you use the structure though) e.g.

1. I had a walk/ stroll/ swim. :tick:
2. I had a walk to my friend's place. :cross:
- It might be pleasurable for the subject (you), but it serves a purpose - you want to reach your friend's place, it has a destination point
3. Every weekend we had a walk around the pond. :tick:
- You can say 'where' but not for what purpose

.....................................................................................................................................................................................
P.S. You can find more information on this and similar structures in The Semantics of Grammar by Anna Wierzbicka. The chapter's titled Why you can have a drink when you can't *have an eat.
 

crazYgeeK

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Vietnamese
Home Country
Vietnam
Current Location
Vietnam
.......................
I'm not a teacher
.......................

In this particular example it seems it's just a matter of collocation.


Interestingly enough, you use the formula with "have a something" when the pleasure of the subject and no particular purpose are involved (that's not the only way you use the structure though) e.g.

1. I had a walk/ stroll/ swim. :tick:
2. I had a walk to my friend's place. :cross:
- It might be pleasurable for the subject (you), but it serves a purpose - you want to reach your friend's place, it has a destination point
3. Every weekend we had a walk around the pond. :tick:
- You can say 'where' but not for what purpose

.....................................................................................................................................................................................
P.S. You can find more information on this and similar structures in The Semantics of Grammar by Anna Wierzbicka. The chapter's titled Why you can have a drink when you can't *have an eat.

Thank you! Your explanation is about when using Have and when not. But the problem here is the choice between have/get. Do you mean when we can't use "have", we can use "get" instead?
Thank you so much!
Plus, please tell me what P.S is?
 

nyota

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Australia
Thank you! Your explanation is about when using Have and when not. But the problem here is the choice between have/get. Do you mean when we can't use "have", we can use "get" instead?
Thank you so much!

No, I didn't mean that. You just wrote something on the way that made me think you associate 'having something' with being connected to pleasure, or something that we want.

I mean we don't want any operations, so we say "we have operations" not "we get operations", is it right?

It's not because we 'don't want the operations' that we use 'have' here. It's just the way these words collocate.

Plus, please tell me what P.S is?

Sure, P.S. stands for a 'postscript'. As Wikipedia clarifies, it comes from the Latin 'post scriptum', an expression meaning "written after". I was just marking I'm making an additional comment.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top