BE + participle = formal/neutral passive (all registers). GET + participle = informal/dynamic passive (spoken English, when the subject participates actively or undergoes a change). "The report WAS written by the team" (BE, formal). "She GOT promoted" (GET, more emphasis on the change/result).
BE + PAST PARTICIPLE: the standard passive structure in all registers of English. The construction BE + past participle can be used in ALL verb tenses. Present: "The meeting is held every Monday." Past: "The report was submitted on time." Future: "The decision will be announced next week." Perfect: "The proposal has been approved." Continuous: "The system is being upgraded." With BY agent: "The project was managed by the senior team." Without agent: "The documents were signed" (when the agent is unknown, irrelevant, or obvious). REGISTER: BE + participle is the standard passive — appropriate for all contexts: formal, informal, spoken, written.
The strategic review was conducted by an independent consultancy firm and took into account feedback gathered from more than three thousand employees across all business units and geographies.
A comprehensive due diligence process has been completed, and the final acquisition agreement is expected to be signed and formally announced before the end of the current financial year.
All data collected through the customer survey will be processed in strict compliance with applicable data protection legislation and will not be shared with any third party without the explicit prior consent of each respondent.
GET + PAST PARTICIPLE: the GET passive is used mainly in INFORMAL SPOKEN ENGLISH and emphasizes: (1) THE RESULT OR CHANGE experienced by the subject: "She got promoted" (emphasis on the CHANGE in her position — something happened to her). (2) THE SUBJECT'S PARTICIPATION OR ACTION in the event: "They got caught stealing" (they actively participated in the situation that led to their being caught). (3) UNPLANNED OR ACCIDENTAL EVENTS: "He got hit by a car" (accidental). "The vase got broken" (accidental, unintentional). DIFFERENCE FROM BE: (1) GET passive is NOT common in formal written English (reports, academic). (2) GET emphasizes the process or change the subject undergoes. BE is more neutral and impersonal. (3) GET does not collocate as smoothly with "by + agent": "She got promoted by her boss" = possible but unusual. "She was promoted by her boss" = more natural. TENSES WITH GET: past = got. Present = get. Future = will get.
She had been one of the strongest performers in the department for three consecutive years, so it came as no surprise when she finally got promoted to head of the division.
Two of the contractors got caught submitting fraudulent expense claims over a period of several months, and both were immediately dismissed following a brief internal investigation.
The company's social media accounts got hacked over the weekend, and the IT security team spent most of Monday restoring access and assessing the extent of any reputational or data exposure.
Common mistake
FREQUENT ERRORS: (1) GET passive in formal written contexts: "The report got approved by the board" = grammatically possible but sounds too colloquial for a formal report. In a professional email or document: "The report was approved by the board." (2) BE passive for accidental events: both are grammatically correct. "The window was broken" (no emphasis on accident) vs "The window got broken" (emphasis that it was accidental/unintentional). (3) "Get" with "by" agent for professional achievements: "She got promoted by her manager" = unusual. Better: "She was promoted by her manager" (BE + agent is much more natural). (4) CONFUSING get + passive PARTICIPLE with get + ADJECTIVAL participle: "I got tired" = I became tired (get + adjectival participle, not a real passive). "I got arrested" = I was arrested (get passive + past participle of "arrest").
Trick to remember it
THE REGISTER RULE: BE + participle = works ALWAYS (formal, informal, spoken, written). GET + participle = ONLY informal/spoken English, when emphasizing CHANGE, RESULT, or ACCIDENT. FORMALITY TRICK: if you would write the text in a report, formal email, or academic document = use BE. If you are telling a friend or in casual conversation = GET is also possible. AGENT TRICK: if you need to include "by + agent," preferably use BE (more natural with agent). "She was promoted BY her manager" = natural. "She got promoted BY her manager" = possible but unusual. ACCIDENT TRICK: unplanned/accidental event = GET is often more natural. "My car got stolen" = emphasizes the impact on the subject. "My car was stolen" = more neutral and impersonal.
Quick rule
BE + participle = standard passive, all registers. GET + participle = spoken/informal passive, emphasizes change, result, or accident experienced by the subject. With "by + agent" = BE is more natural. In formal written text = always BE. "She was promoted" (neutral). "She got promoted" (emphasis on the change she experienced).
Did you know?
The GET passive is one of the most interesting phenomena from the perspective of the history of the English language. While the BE passive dates back to medieval English (12th-14th centuries), the GET passive developed mainly in LATE MODERN ENGLISH (17th-18th centuries) and continues to expand. Corpus data shows that the GET passive has increased significantly in frequency in spoken 20th-century English, especially in American English. Linguists like Alexiadou and Doron have studied why the GET passive allows the interpretation of "active participation" or "accidental event" that the BE passive does not: in "She got arrested," there is an implication that her behavior contributed to the situation, whereas in "She was arrested," the sentence is completely neutral about any action on her part. This pragmatic distinction is one of the reasons why the GET passive remains productive and useful even though the BE passive is older and more formally established.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
During the chaotic evacuation of the building, two employees _____ in the initial confusion and were not accounted for until the full headcount was completed nearly thirty minutes after the alarm sounded.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The revised product roadmap _____ by the product board following a thorough review of user research data and a series of stakeholder consultations held over a three-week period.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
BE + participle = standard passive, all registers. GET + participle = spoken/informal passive, emphasizes change, result, or accident experienced by the subject. With "by + agent" = BE is more natural. In formal written text = always BE. "She was promoted" (neutral). "She got promoted" (emphasis on the change she experienced).
FREQUENT ERRORS: (1) GET passive in formal written contexts: "The report got approved by the board" = grammatically possible but sounds too colloquial for a formal report. In a professional email or document: "The report was approved by the board." (2) BE passive for accidental events: both are grammatically correct. "The window was broken" (no emphasis on accident) vs "The window got broken" (emphasis that it was accidental/unintentional). (3) "Get" with "by" agent for professional achievements: "She got promoted by her manager" = unusual. Better: "She was promoted by her manager" (BE + agent is much more natural). (4) CONFUSING get + passive PARTICIPLE with get + ADJECTIVAL participle: "I got tired" = I became tired (get + adjectival participle, not a real passive). "I got arrested" = I was arrested (get passive + past participle of "arrest").
THE REGISTER RULE: BE + participle = works ALWAYS (formal, informal, spoken, written). GET + participle = ONLY informal/spoken English, when emphasizing CHANGE, RESULT, or ACCIDENT. FORMALITY TRICK: if you would write the text in a report, formal email, or academic document = use BE. If you are telling a friend or in casual conversation = GET is also possible. AGENT TRICK: if you need to include "by + agent," preferably use BE (more natural with agent). "She was promoted BY her manager" = natural. "She got promoted BY her manager" = possible but unusual. ACCIDENT TRICK: unplanned/accidental event = GET is often more natural. "My car got stolen" = emphasizes the impact on the subject. "My car was stolen" = more neutral and impersonal.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy