Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: to be made to do something

Domanda abbastanza random:
 
To be made to do something
=>
Essere costretti a fare qualcosa
 
Mi ricordo di averlo imparato a scuola, ma non lo uso mai. Spesso c'e' 
una ragione. Si usa in America?
 
-- 
Enrico il Pentolaio.

 una ragione. Si usa in America?
 
Yes, the devil made me do it.
 

 Yes, the devil made me do it.
 
What Il Pantalonaio wants to know is if you would say "I was made to do 
it by the Devil".
 

 it by the Devil".
 
I've heard that the devil wears Prada but I don't think that Prada makes 
pants.
 
In any case, it seems counter-productive to use the passive voice when 
you intend to name the culprit. Yours is s perfectly fine sentence but 
would not be most people's choice of phrasing.
 

 would not be most people's choice of phrasing.
 
That is what I thought. Thanks
 


OK, but what about this?
 
"Why did you eat all the chocolates?"
 
"I was made to do it! It was the Devil in person who made me do it!"
 
"How so?"
 
"He tempted me by showing me a box of chocolates!".
 
;)
 
 
 
 


Yeah, no, that's great. Everybody be sayin' ain't that cute how that 
lil' foreign boy talk American!


Do you mean it would sound "foreign" anyway?
 


I mean exactly what I have been saying on this topic. Although it is 
perfectly fine to use the passive voice in this way, it is not a usual 
choice of words for a native speaker in the context you suggest. Part of 
that is because the phrase "the devil made me do it" is so widely known. 
In fact, it was a catchphrase of a character presented by a comedian 
named Flip Wilson in the late 1960's.
 
This evidence is offered without recommendation or prejudice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SLifea3NHQ
 
 
 
 

 choice of words for a native speaker in the context you suggest.
 
I'm pretty sure I've seen newspapers say things like "The man was then
made
to withdraw cash from a nearby ATM."

 made to withdraw cash from a nearby ATM."
 
Yes, but I'm sure you didn't see that sentence as a headline.
 
I'm not saying that the passive voice is not used. I use it. I was 
referring to the context suggested. Perhaps because the phrase "the 
devil made me do it" is so ubiquitous, one does not typically hear "I 
was made to do it by the devil." There may indeed be some environments 
where such an accusation would be taken more seriously and the passive 
construction would spontaneously erupt, but my point is that it is not 
how people usually speak on that topic. Using the passive voice to 
accuse the devil in a joking situation would be such a dry delivery that 
I think even an Englishman would be disappointed.

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After writing this, I began to think that perhaps I'm making this point 
from my cultural perspective and perhaps there were other people who 
took this topic so seriously that they would speak in a way that would 
surprise me. So, I did a couple of Google searches.
 
"The devil made me do it"
4,340,000 results
 
"I was made to do it by the devil"
2 results
 
The following is one of them
http://www.englishforums.com/English/CausativeVerbGet/xzvmp/post.htm
 
It is an English forum which follows the searched phrase with the words 
"Possible. Not common."
 
And the other result is another English discussion about passive sentences
http://answerpool.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/573602022/m/5786045613
 
 
So, I think I was right to trust my first choice in this situation.


OK, but I did *not* say "I was made to do it by the Devil". :D
 
Think of this conversation:
A: "Why did you eat all the chocolates?"
B: "I was made to do it!".
A: "Who made you do it?".
B: "The Devil made me do it!".