[Grammar] Got one's arm broken

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Snappy

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Mar 24, 2009
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Other
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Japanese
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Japan
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Japan
Native speakers say, "The driver got his arm broken."


How do you say if you don't know whether the driver is a male or female?
Is it possible gramatically to say, "The driver got the arm broken."?
 

Rover_KE

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Jun 20, 2010
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British English
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England
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Is it possible gramatically to say, "The driver got the arm broken"?

No.

You could say 'The driver broke an arm' or 'The driver sustained a broken arm' or 'One of the driver's arms was broken in the accident'.

Rover
 

Heterological

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Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
I agree with Rover. Even the initial sentence sounds a bit awkward to me. I would say, "the driver broke his/her/an arm."
 
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