Is it correct to use own in causative and passive voice sentences? For example,
I had my own house built by a local builder.
I didn't have my own eyes tested.
His own hair was dyed by a friend.
Learn English – Using ‘own’ in passive voice and causative sentences
grammaticality
Best Answer
Yes, it is correct, if you are going for the particular emphasis that the use provides. All three statements seem emphatic, and may even need an excalamation point at the end. The word own makes the statements sound either confrontational or defensive.
In all three examples, if I were to read them aloud, I would put stress on the word own.
Consider the following dialog:
There the word own cannot be ommitted while maintaining the tone. If you just specify emphasis by italicizing my, the meaning becomes a bit more ambiguous and changes from confrontational / defensive to possibly haughty.
Consider:
To me, in the first example, Harry sounds a bit more helpful, whereas in the second, Harry sounds a bit more haughty.
Similar examples can be constructed for other two phrases.