Which of these is right? “I've had three family members recover(ed)” [closed]

I've had three family members recover.

OR

I've had three family members recovered.

What's the difference between them (if these both are correct!).


Both the OP's sentences make syntactical and grammatical sense, but the meanings are different. This is because the meaning of "recover" depends on whether it's being used as a transitive or intransitive verb. (See definitions and plenty of examples of both in the Cambridge Dictionary)

As an intransitive verb, "recover" means to become well (He recovered from an illness.), or to return from a negative state to a previous, more positive state (The economy recovered from its decline.) This is how the word is used in the first sentence cited by the OP in the question. The family members themselves recovered from something.

As a transitive verb, "recover", used with an object, means to get back something one has lost (We recovered the valuables, or After the surprise, he recovered his wits.). This is how the word is used in the OP's second sentence. The family members were recovered by someone else or by other people.

So, both constructions can be correct in an appropriate context, but they mean different things.


'recover' has (at least) two similar but distinct meanings.

One is as an intransitive verb meaning 'to return to a normal condition from a bad one'.

I've had three family members recover (from an illness).

The other is as a transitive verb meaning 'to receive back, to find something lost'. in the following it is used passively:

I've had three family members recovered (from the detention center).

So both your examples are correct but for slightly different contexts.