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My friend Jack had a surgery/surgical operation last week. The operation was named operation 64 and the team who did the surgery was named Team P. To say this fact in a passive way, can we say the following?

Jack was put under the surgery/operation 64 by Team P last week.

Any other suggestion is welcomed. What I am looking for here is a word/expression that can be used in a grammatically passive voice sentence to say such a fact. Also I want Jack to be the subject of that sentence. Moreover, I need the operation name, i.e. operation 64, and the doer, i.e. Team P, to be mentioned in the sentence.

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    So you want a word to fit into "Jack was ----- last week."? operated on?
    – Hank
    Commented Jan 11, 2017 at 17:30
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    An operation was performed on Jack last week.
    – Jim
    Commented Jan 11, 2017 at 17:35
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    @Mrt I don't think this classifies as proofreading. The OP gave an example of the text and would like to know a better way to express it. It may be off-topic still, but not for proofreading. If he had asked, "Is there anything wrong with this sentence?", then that would possibly be proofreading.
    – Hank
    Commented Jan 11, 2017 at 17:44
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    @Mrt I agree with what the OP should do differently. But I still disagree that this is related to proofreading at all. As Fumble state, this may be better suited for ELL
    – Hank
    Commented Jan 11, 2017 at 17:51
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    @Hank english.stackexchange.com/questions/367764/… You will find a comment that sounds very familiar.
    – Rathony
    Commented Jan 11, 2017 at 17:56

2 Answers 2

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If you want passive voice, then:

Procedure 64 was performed on Jack by Team P last week.

(note that the standard term in medicine for a specific type of surgery is 'procedure')

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  • But, as mentioned, I want a sentence with Jack being the subject in it.
    – Sasan
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 4:44
  • Upon Jack procedure 64 was performed by Team P last week? That's pretty awkward.
    – John Feltz
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 13:43
  • The subject of the sentence with the verb "perform" is the procedure, not the patient. "Jack was subjected to procedure...", but 'subjected' has a negative connotation.
    – John Feltz
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 13:44
  • Your last suggestion "subjected to procedure 64" is very close to what I want. Thanks. But how is its connotation negative?
    – Sasan
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 14:22
  • "Subjected to" usually means that it was done without your willing participation or approval. "I was subjected to a pat-down search at the airport" "I was subjected to a 2-hour wait at the bank" "I was subjected to a lecture from my mother-in-law about how we are raising our children"
    – John Feltz
    Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 14:36
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There are various ways of phrasing it in BrE:

  • Jack had surgery last week.
  • Jack had an operation last week.
  • Jack underwent surgery last week.
  • Jack underwent an operation last week.

It is a little more awkward to put it in the passive voice:

  • Jack was operated on last week.
  • Jack was given an operation last week.

underwent verb

past simple of undergo (to experience something that is unpleasant or something that involves a change)

  • After the accident, he underwent reconstructive surgery to rebuild his face.

Cambridge Dictionary

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  • None of your suggestions are passive. I edited the question to make it more clear.
    – Sasan
    Commented Jan 11, 2017 at 17:59
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    @user204489 I missed that. The last suggestion is, in fact, passive. I'll try to add some more.
    – Mick
    Commented Jan 11, 2017 at 18:02
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    @user204489 What's wrong with "Jack was operated on by Team P last week."?
    – Hank
    Commented Jan 11, 2017 at 18:02
  • Please check the last edition.
    – Sasan
    Commented Jan 11, 2017 at 18:06

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