'Gift' in passive voice: I have been gifted this novel

[Tom]

Hi

Could you please tell me if both of the following sentences are correct and natural?

1- This novel has been gifted to me.
2- I have been gifted this novel.

Tom

[Alan]

Both OK

A
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[Yankee]

Hi Alan

Would those sentences be common in the UK?

Amy

[Alan]

Hi,

In a special sense of being left to someone in a will or other similar arrangement.

A
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[Tom]

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

I'd say using the word 'would' in this case is simply a politer way to ask a direct question since the direct question might be seen as a challenge.

Though I understand your sentences, I don't think you'd be likely to hear or read that sort of usage very often in the US.

I think more common usages of 'gifted' would be something like these sentences:

- Barbra Streisand is gifted with a beautiful voice.
- My son attends a school specifically designed for gifted children.

Amy

[Torsten]

Hi Tom, I agree with Amy and Alan. How about I received this novel as a gift? After all, your initial question was about 'natural sentences'.
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[Pond969]

I would hesitate to ever say that a construction is absolutely incorrect (after all English has no 'Official Rules' and the language changes constantly). But..... the two sentences you supplied ....

1- This novel has been gifted to me.
2- I have been gifted this novel.

... are very unusual and I would say all native English speakers would immediately find them un-natural.

In both sentences, 'given' would be the standard word used by English speakers and it *could* refer to a gift but simply mean that the novel inquestion was placed in one's possession. That is to say.. someone could give me a novel intending that it me mine, or simply give it to me to hold temporarily without there being any change in ownership. If you want to specify that someone 'gifted' you with a novel, it would be more standard to say that you 'received the novel as a gift' or that it was 'given to you as a gift'.

The word 'Gifted' is generally used to mean that someone possesses a particular talent or ability (or set of talents or abilities).

[Samueljclemens]

Hey ya'll,

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is that, in the United States at least, the main context in which you're likely to hear "to gift" as a verb is that of "re-gifting," as in, "Sara hated the sweater her grandmother knitted her for Christmas, so she re-gifted it to her roommate."

Otherwise, we tend to say "give" and "was given" (or, in active voice, "received," or more colloquially, "got").