Native English speaker input on grammar construction - "I was made a pair of shoes" Thread poster: metsch
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Hello, all,
First and foremost, I hope you are fine.
I would like to clarify a doubt I have on English grammar, regarding a phrasing I've actually seen native speakers use.
Could a native please confirm that "I was made a pair of shoes/she was made a car" is the same as "a pair of shoes was made for me/a car was made for her"? Is the first form correct, though used less often? Is it absolutely grammatically incorrect?
Thank you very much... See more Hello, all,
First and foremost, I hope you are fine.
I would like to clarify a doubt I have on English grammar, regarding a phrasing I've actually seen native speakers use.
Could a native please confirm that "I was made a pair of shoes/she was made a car" is the same as "a pair of shoes was made for me/a car was made for her"? Is the first form correct, though used less often? Is it absolutely grammatically incorrect?
Thank you very much for your help on this.
Best regards! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:57
Member (2008)
Italian to English
metsch wrote:
Hello, all,
First and foremost, I hope you are fine.
I would like to clarify a doubt I have on English grammar, regarding a phrasing I've actually seen native speakers use.
Could a native please confirm that "I was made a pair of shoes/she was made a car" is the same as "a pair of shoes was made for me/a car was made for her"? Is the first form correct, though used less often? Is it absolutely grammatically incorrect?
Thank you very much for your help on this.
Best regards!
It's colloquial and, possibly, more Irish than English (I'm Irish). You might say something like this in conversation but not in print (unless it's a script or something someone says in a novel).
[Edited at 2021-09-24 16:58 GMT]
| | | | CARL HARRIS
United States
Local time: 17:57
Member (2013)
English to French
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| New topic [Native English speaker input on grammar construction - "I was made a pair of shoes"] | Sep 24, 2021 |
That certainly is not from Native English speakers in Canada or the USA.
| | | | | Yes, colloquial | Sep 24, 2021 |
Agree with Tom, definitely colloquial. Grammatically, it's not incorrect (compare "I was given a pair of shoes"), but "made" turns it into a bit of an amphiboly, similarly to
- Could you call me a taxicab?
- Sure, you are a taxicab.
The closest literary expression would be "I had a pair of shoes made".
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Alex Ossa 
Chile
Local time: 18:57
Member (2017)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Colloquial/grammatically incorrect | Sep 24, 2021 |
As Tom said, this could be said in very informal speech, and probably in some areas of the UK or Ireland, but not elsewhere. Even in the UK, most well-educated people would not speak like that colloquially.
"I was made a pair of shoes" would most likely be "I had a pair of shoes made" (still coll.) or "Someone made me a pair of shoes" or, alternatively (but perhaps less likely because passive voice *eugh*) your own suggestions.
It's unlikely someone would understand t... See more As Tom said, this could be said in very informal speech, and probably in some areas of the UK or Ireland, but not elsewhere. Even in the UK, most well-educated people would not speak like that colloquially.
"I was made a pair of shoes" would most likely be "I had a pair of shoes made" (still coll.) or "Someone made me a pair of shoes" or, alternatively (but perhaps less likely because passive voice *eugh*) your own suggestions.
It's unlikely someone would understand the speaker was turned into a pair of shoes by someone else, which is the grammatical meaning of the original sentence, unless in an Alice In Wonderland type of context. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michele Fauble
United States
Local time: 15:57
Member (2006)
Norwegian to English
+ ...
| Just another way of saying … | Sep 24, 2021 |
A pair of shoes was made for me.
They made a pair of shoes for me.
They made me a pair of shoes.
English grammar rule:
The indirect object in an active sentence can become the subject in a passive sentence.
They/someone gave me a pair of shoes.
I was given a pair of shoes.
| | | | | Thank you, all. | Sep 24, 2021 |
Thank you very much for all of your insights.
My main question was clarified: it is NOT grammatically incorrect, especially taking into account one of the examples provided, which I also had in mind: "I was given a pair of shoes"—exactly, and amphiboly was indeed what I was thinking of; though, as also pointed out, it's highly unlikely someone would understand that the speaker was turned into/promoted to a pair of shoes.
I had heard UK English natives use this, so wa... See more Thank you very much for all of your insights.
My main question was clarified: it is NOT grammatically incorrect, especially taking into account one of the examples provided, which I also had in mind: "I was given a pair of shoes"—exactly, and amphiboly was indeed what I was thinking of; though, as also pointed out, it's highly unlikely someone would understand that the speaker was turned into/promoted to a pair of shoes.
I had heard UK English natives use this, so was sure it was colloquial, though not as sure regarding grammatical correctness.
Thank you very much for your help. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Compare with 'I was given a pair of shoes' | Sep 25, 2021 |
I would not write the sentence like that, and would probably not say it, but it would not surprise me in the slightest if someone said it in the parts of England where I grew up.
Grammatically it is very similar to 'I was given a pair of shoes'.
After reading everybody else's comments and thinking about it, the expression suggests to me that the initiative might have come from someone else. Perhaps the shop did not have what I wanted in my size, so they had the shoes ma... See more I would not write the sentence like that, and would probably not say it, but it would not surprise me in the slightest if someone said it in the parts of England where I grew up.
Grammatically it is very similar to 'I was given a pair of shoes'.
After reading everybody else's comments and thinking about it, the expression suggests to me that the initiative might have come from someone else. Perhaps the shop did not have what I wanted in my size, so they had the shoes made, or someone ordered the shoes for me, but I am not sure everyone would make the distinction.
I had a pair of shoes made, or even 'My mother had a pair of shoes made for me' (because I was too young to order them myself) would be more standard. ▲ Collapse
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| Totally OK in British English | Sep 25, 2021 |
I was made a cake for my birthday
Totally correct
I’m just not saying who by
But then the only kind of person who could afford hand-made shoes would probably go the whole hog and say they had a pair of shoes made…
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Once more, thank you all for your input!
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CARL HARRIS wrote:
That certainly is not from Native English speakers in Canada or the USA.
I have heard this construction used in Canada - by native English speakers, and may have used it myself. Though I'm more likely to say "I had a pair of shoes made for me."
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