Got have done or been have done

Question

I am quite confused about use of the verb "get".

We use get, when we want a thing completed by someone.

e.g.

I get the documents completed(from ABC).

My question is if we had to say a person couldn't complete the things within a given time.

e.g.

He didn't get the things completed on time.. and we have to say,

You should have got the things completed(by ABC). (He didn't get the things completed on time and the time is over now).

Replacement for this may be,

You should have been completed the things.

Are thiese sentences correct?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

I got the [documents / job] done. / I finished the [documents / job].

I didn't get the [documents / job] done. / I didn't finish the [documents / job].

You should have got the [documents / job] done. / You should have finished the [documents / job].

Your sentences are grammatically correct, but not idiomatic. Use the sentences above.

CJ

Harry1999 · Answer

Get + verb is generally used in passive voice.

I mean the examples you have given indicate passive and active voice?

e.g.

You should have got the [documents / job] done. / (Passive- I should have been completed the documents by someone)

You should have finished the [documents / job]-- (Active- here I indicates I was doing the document.)

Please correct me, if I am wrong

CalifJim · Answer

harry1999Get + verb is generally used in passive voice.

Not true. It's the embedded clause that has a passive meaning. The main clause is active.

I got the job done implies The job was done.

I got the job done is active voice.

The job was done is passive voice.

*I should have been completed the documents by someone is not English. It's completely ungrammatical.

harry1999You should have finished the [documents / job]-- (Active- here I indicates I was doing the document.)

This comment doesn't make sense because there is no I in the sentence.

CJ

Dimsumexpress · Answer

While you wait for CJ, I'd take a shot at it.

Get- is a word that is used very vastly and can be crazy for learners to get a full grasp of.

I(ve') got caught cheating. It's passive, meaning the same as " I 've been caught or I was caught". Here you have 2 past tense verbs joined together in a sentence which shouldn't make sense by grammar rule, but it does.

For me, when I use the hypothetical "should have..." construction, I preferthe long form "gotten" instead of "got", simply for that "gotten" effect. i.e. You should have never gotten involved with anyone in the office. That being said, the debate between the use of "got" and "gotten" is still going on many websites, even among the natives.

harry1999You should have got the [documents / job] done. / (Passive- I should have been completed the documents by someone)

You should have - is an active voice. Getting something done- is passive. Your sentence is in effect a active-passive construction, just the example I posted.

Harry1999 · Answer

I forgot to add You in the sentence.

Sentence like,

The task should have been done by you is as same as The task should got done by you.

I think both are passive. The sentence written in my previous reply,

I /You should have been completed the documents by someone.

I think it says I was to get the documents completed, but I wasn't .

Harry1999 · Answer

@dimsumexpress: What do you say? Am I correct?

Dimsumexpress · Answer

harry1999I forgot to add You in the sentence.
Sentence like,
The task should have been done by you is as same as The task should got done by you.[/quote]
[Unless you have more context, this is not the natural collocation ] [ This is a wrong construction ]

Yes, it's passive. If you are the boss and your employee failed to meet the deadline, you can say " It's a simple job that should have been done yerterday!" There is no need to say " by you". Often times, we use passive contexts without mentioning an agent. i.e. John's house has been recently painted. The main point is the housed has been painted. Who painted it is not relevent with the limited context. But in a more specific context, "My house was painted [by XYZ painting company] a month ago, the paint is peeling already". If the suggestion was XYZ has done a poor job, then the bracketed part is essential.

Dimsumexpress · Answer

harry1999I /You should have been completed the documents by someone.
I think it says I was to get the documents completed, but I wasn't .

No, they are not correct.

I /You should have been completed the documents by someone. You have both voices mixed together in this sentence. Its meaning is unclear.

I think it says I was to get the documents completed, but I wasn't .

The "I am to", "you are to", they are to" construction and usage is another topic all by itself. For its use here, it is incorrect.

CalifJim · Answer

harry1999The task should have been done by you is as same as ~~The task should got done by you~~ You should have done the task.

As shown. Not what you wrote. The first is a passive construction with the modal should. The second one, which I provided for you, is the corresponding active construction.

harry1999 I/You should have been completed the documents by someone.

This is not a properly constructed sentence. If you have "been completed", you have something passive. Passives do not have direct objects. Yet you have "completed the documents", where "documents" is a direct object. So you're sentence is just a mixture of passive and active, and nobody will be able to understand what you wrote.

Maybe if you study these, it will help:

John wrote the story. - active - contains the direct object 'the story'.

The story was written by John. - passive - no direct object.

John should have written the story. - active.

The story should have been written by John. - passive.

John got Mary to write the story. -active main clause; active subordinate clause.

John got the story written by Mary. - active main clause; passive subordinate clause.

You can't make the main clause passive. That would create

*Mary to write the story was gotten by John.

OR

*The story written by Mary was gotten by John.

which are completely ungrammatical.

CJ

Got have done or been have done

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