"He was getting beaten" vs. "he was being beaten"
I would need to understand the difference here:
He was being beaten.
He was getting beaten.
I know "get" + ppt can be either passive voice or a change of state. What is that in this example? I guess this is the passive voice. But what about this:
He is getting ready.
He is being ready - obviously wrong but I cannot say why.
Solution 1:
Get is a very busy verb in English.
It's mostly an auxiliary verb, and it almost always is Inchoative in meaning -- i.e, it refers to a change of state, by referring to a state that is beginning.
Inchoative predicates (verbs and adjectives) often occur in sets of Stative, Inchoative, and Causative, which are often the same word, but sometimes not:
- Stative predicate:
The gate is open (wide)/(wide) open.
The gate is closed (tight).
The dog is dead.
The dog is tired (out).
He is (located) at X.
They have (= possess) the book.- Inchoative predicate:
The gate opened (wide).
The gate closed (tight).
The dog died.
The dog tired. ~ The dog got tired (out).
He came/went to X.
They got (= received) the book.- Causative predicate:
We opened the gate (wide).
We closed the gate (tight).
We killed the dog.
We tired the dog (out).
We brought/took him to X.
They got (= acquired) the book.
Get is so busy because it's the inchoative of both the auxiliary verb be and the auxiliary verb have. And these auxiliary verbs participate in an awful lot of constructions. Therefore, so does get.
- Some examples of Inchoative uses of get (many idiomatic):
- He was tired. ~ He got tired. (get = 'come to be')
- He is moving. ~ He got moving.
- He is married. ~ He got married.
- He is being married. ~ He is getting married.
- He is tired. ~ He got tired.
- He has a cold. ~ He got a cold. (get = 'come to have')
- He had it done. ~ He got it done.
- He has the job. ~ He got the job.
- He has to retire. ~ He has got to retire ~ He's gotta retire.