The construction have something done - education and use. Expression have something done in English Expression to have something done

There is an interesting construction in English that consists of the verb have, an object and the past participle (the third form of the verb). Another name for it is passive causative. We use have something done when the action is performed not by the subject himself, but by another person.

Let's look at the use of this construction using examples.

Example 1:

My hair is too long. I need to have it cut. My hair has grown back. I would like to have my hair cut.

This sentence is not about cutting your hair yourself, but about getting a haircut from a barber or stylist.

Example 2:

My back was sore yesterday, so I had it massaged. Yesterday my back hurt, so I had a massage.

In this case, the action was performed not by the subject, but by another person, a professional massage therapist.

As we can see from the first two examples, the person who provides the service (hairdresser or massage therapist) may be omitted because it is obvious from the context. If you need to indicate the agent, then a construction with the preposition by and a noun (by+agent) is used.

My car has broken down. I need to have it fixed by a mechanic. My car broke down. I need to have it repaired at a car service center.

We had the tickets delivered by a special courier. Our tickets were delivered by a special courier.

He has his suits made by the most expensive tailor in town. He orders suits from the most expensive tailor in the city.

It is important to remember the word order: the past participle (fixed, delivered, made) comes after the object (it, tickets, suits).

The verb get can be used in the same construction, especially in spoken English, but the meaning does not change.

I have a toothache. I will get it checked out by the dentist. I have a toothache. I'll see the dentist.

I got my guitar tuned yesterday. Yesterday I had my guitar tuned.

Additional examples with the have something done construct

The verb have can be in the present, past or future tense, depending on the context.

Present Simple: subject + has/have + object + third form of the verb

Present Continuous: subject + am/is/are having + object + third form of the verb

Present Perfect: subject + has/have had + object + third form of the verb

Past Simple: subject + had + object + third form of the verb

Future Simple: subject + will have + object + third form of the verb

Going to: subject + am/is/are going to have + object + third form of the verb

More examples with the have something done construction:

I have my eyes tested once a year. I have my eyes checked once a year.

She's having her hair dyed. Her hair is being dyed (now).

They have just had a garage built. They just had a garage built.

We had champagne brought to our room. They brought us champagne to our room.

Kate is going to have his bike repaired. Kate is going to have her bike repaired.

Some people are multifaceted. They can do anything.
But we all need help. Can you fix your car? Can you fix your washing machine? If you don’t or don’t want to, then someone else does it for you. And in this article we will talk about the have something done construction.

Dialogue with the causative form

Before you start studying hard, read the fun little dialogue and pay attention to the highlighted words. Look at how the causative phrase is used in English and try to translate it intuitively.

• A: I hardly recognized you. You have had your hair dyed blonde, Amy.
• B: You should have your eyes tested. My name's Sue not Amy.
• A: Oh! You have had your name changed too.

So how? Did you succeed? Don't be upset if not. Let's translate together:

• A: I barely recognized you. You dyed your hair blonde, Amy.
• B: You need to have your eyes checked. My name is Sue, not Amy.
• A: Wow, you also changed your name. =)

Did you get the joke? Funny, isn't it? All sentences that are highlighted in bold are our today’s “have something done” rule. All these actions were done by other people, and not by the object itself. Let's take a better look at this design.

Use have something done

• 1. Have something done rule is used when someone does something for us. Usually things that are difficult for us to do ourselves or that we simply don’t want to do.
  Let's look at the examples and analyze them like no one else has.

Turnover Have something done examples:

We can say this:

—I ironed my T-shirt – I ironed the T-shirt (This means that I ironed it with my own hands).

If we pay someone to iron a shirt, we can, of course, say this:

—My sister ironed my T-shirt - My sister ironed my T-shirt (Well, of course, we paid her).

But another way is the causative form:

—I had my T-shirt ironed– My shirt was ironed (not by me, but by someone else).
—I had my house painted last week – My house was painted last week (special hired people who painted the house, not me myself).

In some ways, using the causative construction is similar to using the passive voice. The important thing is that the shirt is now ironed. We don't focus on who stroked her.

Compare offers:

— I check my daughter’s homework every night.
— I have my daughter’s homework checked every night.

Can you see the difference? Certainly.

In the first sentence, I am checking my daughter’s homework myself, without any help.
In the second sentence, someone else is doing it, not me.

• 2. Causative voice in English Have + object + past participle can be used instead of the passive voice to express accident or misfortune. (When something unpleasant happened to someone):

—Richard had his bicycle stolen. (= His bicycle was stolen.) — Richard's bicycle was stolen.
— She had her leg broken- She broke her leg.

• 3. Using the rule Get something done (Get + object + past participle).
  Get can be used instead have in colloquial speech.

-You should get your watch repaired. (= You should have your watch repaired.) - You need to fix your watch.
- No got his tooth taken out yesterday - Yesterday his tooth was pulled out.

• 4. The causative form in English is used to express when someone forces someone to do something. And in this case the following causative formula is used: Subject + make / have + object + bare infinitive.

Let's look at examples:

— She made me clean the house – She insisted that I clean the house.
— She had me clean the house – She asked me to clean the house.

• 5. The following causative formula is: Get + object + to-infinitive used to persuade someone to do something.

— Tracy got her friend to help her move the sofa – Tracy persuaded her friend to help her move the sofa.

Formula for the formation of sentences with the construction have something done in English

The quasative form in English is formed using the formula:
Have + object + past participle.

Formula		have ⇓	object ⇓	past participle ⇓
Example	She	had	her flat	painted

We will separately analyze sentences in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms:

Statement: Subject + have/has + object + ed or V3

Example: I have my bed made every morning - My bed is made every morning.

Negation: Subject + auxiliary verb (Do/does) + not + have + object + ed or V3

Example: I don’t have my bed made every morning - My bed is not made every morning.

Question: auxiliary verb (Do/does) + subject + have + object + ed or V3

Example: Do I have my bed made every morning? – Do they make my bed every morning?

Causative form table in English

The To have something done rule can be used in any tense form or verb. The only part of the structure that changes is the verb, which must conform to the appropriate form.
Compare sentences in the active voice and in The Causative Form:

Present Simple
She cleans her shoes every day - She cleans her shoes every day.	She has her shoes cleaned every day - Her shoes are cleaned every day.
Present Continuous
She is cleaning her shoes now – She is cleaning her shoes now.	She is having her shoes cleaned— Her shoes are being cleaned now.
Past Simple
She cleaned her shoes yesterday - Yesterday she cleaned her shoes.	She had her shoes cleaned yesterday— Her shoes were cleaned yesterday.
Past Continuous
She was cleaning her shoes - She was cleaning her shoes.	She was having her shoes cleaned— Her shoes were being shined.
Future Simple
She will clean her shoes tomorrow - She cleaned her shoes.	She will have her shoes cleaned tomorrow - Her shoes will be cleaned tomorrow.
Future Continuous
She will be cleaning her shoes - She will clean shoes.	She will be having her shoes cleaned“I’ll clean her shoes.”
Present Perfect
She has just cleaned her shoes - She just cleaned her shoes.	She has just had her shoes cleaned— Her shoes have just been shined.
Present Perfect Continuous
She has been cleaning her shoes for 15 minutes - She has been cleaning her shoes for 15 minutes.	She has been having her shoes cleaned for 15 minutes — Her shoes have been being cleaned for 15 minutes.
Past Perfect
She had cleaned her shoes - She cleaned her shoes.	She had had her shoes cleaned— Her shoes have been cleaned.
Past Perfect Continuous
She had been cleaning her shoes for 10 minutes - She cleaned her shoes for 10 minutes.	She had been having her shoes cleaned for 10 minutes — Her shoes were cleaned for 10 minutes.
Infinitive
She must clean her shoes - She must clean her shoes.	She must have her shoes cleaned— Her shoes need to be cleaned.
Gerund
She likes cleaning her shoes - She likes to clean her shoes.	She likes having her shoes cleaned— She likes to have her shoes cleaned.

You can download a reminder for yourself so you don’t forget how the causative is formed in English.

Dan from BBC explains how to correctly use causative form rules in English in just 90 seconds. Listen to how simple and easy everything is, and at the same time practice your listening skills.

Read another mini joke:

— Rob: I’m having my leg operated on tomorrow. I'm afraid I might have it cut off.
— Daisy: Oh, great. Can I borrow your car then? You won't be needing it.

Translate the dialogue and leave your translation with us in the comments! =) We will be glad to receive any translation.

Causative verbs in English

Since we have touched on the rules of the causative form in English, we will also touch on causative verbs. Causative Verbs in English, as the name suggests, are verbs that express the idea that someone causes someone to do something.

There are three such verbs in English:

However, there are other verbs that are also used as causative verbs, such as: cause, allow, help, enable, force, require, persuade, etc.

Above we already talked about the rule have / get something done and the verb make. Now we will take the verb Let.

• Let's means to allow someone to do something.
  Formula: let + object + base form of verb.

Examples:

— Will you let me use your hairdryer? -Will you let me use your hairdryer?
- Let us play outside - Let us play outside.

• Cause- to cause, to be the cause.
  Education formula: cause + object + to + base form of verb.

Examples:

- Our divorce caused us to sell our properties - Our divorce forced us to sell our property.

• Allow- allow allow.
  Formula: allow + to + base form of verb.

Examples:

- They are not allowed to use calculators in the exam - They are not allowed to use calculators in the exam.

• Help- to help.
  After the verb Help we can use to + base form of verb or base form of verb(base form of the verb). These two forms are absolutely correct and there is no difference in meaning. But more often it is used without the particle to.

Examples:

- I will help you wash the dishes OR I will help you to wash the dishes - I will help you wash the dishes.

• Enable- to give an opportunity, to make possible.
  Formula of this verb: enable + object + to + base form of verb.

Examples:

- This money has enabled me to buy a new computer - This money gave me the opportunity to buy a new computer.

• Force- force, compel.
  Formula: force + object + to + base form of verb.

Examples:

- I forced Dave to marry me - I forced Dave to marry me.

• Persuade- persuade, persuade.
  Formula: persuade + object + to + base form of verb.

Examples:

- He persuaded his mum to bake him a cake - He persuaded his mother to bake him a pie.
- My husband is planning to persuade me to go see a doctor - My husband plans to convince me to go to the doctor.

• Require- demand.
  Formula: require + object + to + base form of verb.

Examples:

- Pupils are required to wear their school uniform - Pupils are required to wear a school uniform.

The causative construction in English is complex at first glance, but the more often you use the rule in colloquial speech, the faster you remember the phrase have something done.

Advice:
After reading today's rule and doing the exercise, rest. Later, after a couple of hours or before going to bed, take 10 minutes to read the causative form and try to say some dialogue that you come up with yourself. And you need to repeat this for some time until you feel that you no longer need to repeat it. You will notice the result yourself.

Have something done exercises

Exercise 1.
Your boyfriend/girlfriend does everything himself. And you pay others to do something for you. Write sentences using the construction have something done, and many other interesting tasks await you.
P.S. Do not put dots on the test, otherwise the score will not be counted.

A few lessons ago you became acquainted with such a grammatical phenomenon in English as Passive Voice. As you remember, Passive Voce is used in cases where the performer of the action is unknown. In this case, the place of the subject in the sentence is taken by the object with which some action was performed.

Rules for using have something done

Today's lesson will be devoted to a special case of the passive voice, namely the construction “have something done”. What is private about it?

Compare:

My house wasrepaired. – My house has been renovated.
I had my house repaired. - My house was repaired.

Both sentences express a similar idea, but why then were different constructions used, you ask? It's simple. The second sentence carries the meaning that the house was not repaired by the person himself, but by specialists. In Russian there is no similar phenomenon; we would simply say “I renovated the house,” even if the repair was done by a team of hired workers.

Havesomethingdone, as a rule, is used when we talk about repairs, a haircut, going to the dentist or doctor. Instead of something The object with which the action is performed is called: for example, house.

This construction is combined with the passive voice by meaning (the performer is still not specified) and the presence of a verb in form III, which carries a “passive” meaning. In this case, the verb have as part of the phrase changes tenses. For example:

I have just had my hair cut. - I just got my hair cut. (Present Perfect)
He is having his car fixed. - His car is being repaired. (Present Continuous)

Negation and questioning are constructed using the already known auxiliary verbs “do/does” for the present and “did” for the past:

Do you have your windows cleaned every month?
She didn't have her room decorated yesterday.

So the expression havesomethingdone necessary when the action is performed not by you yourself, but by someone you hired. Also design havesomethingdone also used to describe negative experiences or unpleasant events: He had his purse stolen.

In informal conversations verb have can be replaced with a verb get:I' ll get my laptop fixed in a couple of days.

Lesson assignments

Task 1. Open the brackets using the verb have in the correct form.

1. Nick (have) his phone fixed two days ago.
2. She (have) just the report written.
3. Susan (have) regularly her blood pressure taken.
4. They (have) their flat redecorated next month.
5. My granny (have) her eyes tested last week.
6. The woman (have) already the bill brought.
7. I (have) my car washed every month.
8. John (have) the surgery done two weeks ago.

Task 2. Change using the have something done construction.

1. Somebody robbed his house last week.
2. Did she make a cake for you?
3. The walls in your room will be painted.
4. Mum has washed all my clothes.
5. Nancy walks my dog ​​every Sunday.
6. Your office is being cleaned at the moment.
7. The man is repairing Mary’s watch.
8. Did she call the plumber to fix the shower?

CAUSITIVE FORM

TO HAVE SOMETHING DONE

1. Rewrite the following passages in the active or passive,

accordingly.

A Rosemary Hills train station was built by Sean Carlton and his wife Sharon in 1894. For the construction of the waiting room, the Carltons had imported red brick from England. The President himself opened the station in 1896. That year, a steam locomotive visited Rosemary Hills for the first time. It was pumping clouds of white smoke and whistling loudly enough to be heard by all the townspeople.

B The news reporter announced that the police are looking for a man who broke into the National Bank. The thief cut the wires of the alarm and then broke into the bank"s city center branch some time late last night. The thief stole £500,000 from the bank. The police are searching the city center as they believe the thief is still in the area.

2. Rewrite these sentences using have + object + past participle (have something done) and changing some words if necessary.

Example: Someone delivers the newspapers. (We)

We have the newspapers delivered.

Someone cleaned the carpets every year. (I)

I had the carpets cleaned every year.

Their house needs painting. (They're going to)

They"re going to have their house painted.

1. We ask someone to check the accounts every month. (We)

2. Someone sends the money to my bank account in London. (I)

3. My stereo isn't working properly. It needs cleaning. (I'm going to)

4. My camera"s being repaired at the moment. (I"m)

5. He spilled coffee on my jacket so he took it away for cleaning. (He spilt coffee on my jacket so he)

6. I think it"s time to service the car. (It"s time to)

7. I don't like the office curtains. It's time to change them. (I think I"ll)

8. There's something wrong with the typewriter. It needs repairing. (I think I"ll)

9. The computer"s no good: we"re changing it. (We)

10. I send the films to England: they are processed there. (I)

3. Rewrite the sentences using have something done.

Example: The money was deposited in his bank account by the company.

He had the money deposited in his bank account.

1. Sarah's new refrigerator will be delivered tomorrow.

2. Tim's car was serviced last week.

3. Mrs Scott's cat was examined by the vet yesterday.

4. Paul's house will be painted next weekend.

5. Mr Brown's book has just been published.

6. Becky's hair is done every week.

7. Edward's dinner was cooked by his mother yesterday.

9. My eyes are tested by the optician.

10. Somebody stole my car last weekend.

4. Rewrite the sentences using have something done.

Example: My windows are cleaned twice a month.

I have my windows cleaned twice a month.

1. The star's latest film has just been released.

2. Their swimming pool will be drained.

3. The carpets must be laid in our flat by Monday.

4. The brakes on my bicycle have been oiled.

5. Our desks are being painted at the moment.

6. Her bookcase was delivered last week.

7. A new computer has been ordered for me.

8. Annie's sculptures are going to be exhibited tomorrow.

9. A skateboard was being made for Tim.

10. He told the student to clean the board.

For all English language learners, one of the most mysterious constructions has always been the Causative form. In this article we will figure out what kind of construction this is, get acquainted with its forms, consider verbs that are causative and, of course, we will analyze all this with examples.

Features of the causative construction

First of all, it is necessary to determine what a causative form is in English. Let's consider these examples:

IwashmycareverySaturday – I wash my car every Saturday.
I have my car washed every Saturday – My carwasheverySaturday.

As we can see, in both sentences we are talking about washing a car, but in the first case the performer performs the action himself, and in the second example someone does it instead of him.

This is the main essence of the causative - it describes a situation when we find 3 people who will do some work for us. In this kind of sentence, the subject (in our example, “I”) is not the direct performer, he acts as an initiator, is the reason that the action will be performed. Hence the name of the construction - the causative form (translated from cause - reason, to cause - to encourage, to achieve).

Causative forms

In English, a distinction is made between active and passive causative phrases.

Active

Its peculiarity is that the performer of the action, as a rule, will be designated - the proposal will indicate who specifically performs the work

I have my legal representative sign all the agreements. - Allagreementssignsmylegal. representative.

As we can see from the example, it is formed according to the scheme :

Subject– causativeverb– performer– infinitive

Subject + have/get/make/let/help + Person + Infinitive

In this case, the role of the performer is the person who will perform the action.

The active construction uses the causative verbs have, get, make, let, help.

• 1.Have used when we shift the responsibility for performing an action to someone else, redirect the task (in most cases we are talking about providing us with some services, usually on a paid, profitable basis)
• 2. Get- when we encourage someone to take action, trying to convince, motivate or in some way inspire them to carry it out. Sometimes it can also mean that we tricked someone into doing what we wanted.

How can we get all the students to attend the classes?
My daughter hates working in the garden; I can never get her to water the plants!

• 3. Let's expresses permission to perform a task

I always let my kids watch some cartoons before going to bed - I always allow my children to watch some cartoons before going to bed

• 4.Make used for orders and instructions, meaning “to force”

She made me act this way - She made me do this.

• 5.Help- help someone do something

Jane helped me to clean the room - Jane helped me clean the room.

As for tense forms, the active causative construction can be used in all tenses, subject to the standard rules of grammar - all that is required of us is to put the verb in the correct form

• We will get our college to contact you – Wewe'll convinceourcolleaguecontactWithYou ()
• When they arrived I had had my sister clean the flat – WhenTheycame, mysisteralreadyremovedVapartment ()
• I am making him do his homework – II forcehisexecutehomemadeexercise ()

It is not customary to use this construction with the verb have in the Continuous form; in these cases, preference is given to passive forms.

Passive causative

In sentences with Passive Causative form, i.e. in which there is a construction have something done, the emphasis is on the action itself, the performer is either clear from the context, or this information is not important at all. This construction is used with the verbs have and get and is quite widespread, occurring even more often than the active form.

She has flowers in her yard watered three times a week – FlowersVheryardwateredthreetimesVa week.

Here, like an active causative, the subject (in our example “She”) does not perform the action herself, but someone does it for her.

The following structures are built according to the following scheme:

Subject – causative verb – object – 3rd form of the verb

Subject -have/get-object -V3

Those. in general it will look like to have something done or get something done.

The passive causative phrase can be used in all types of tense forms, as shown in the table below

Difference between have and get

There are certain differences in the use of the causative verbs have and get.

• As we noted above, have is used when transferring responsibility, and get is used when we manage to motivate a person to do something.
• Another difference is that have often refers to a result, which may mean that an action has already been completed, while get places more emphasis on the process of persuasion.

Jane has had her boyfriend propose her. Jane’s boyfriend proposed to her.
Jane has got her boyfriend to propose her. – Jane managed to persuade her boyfriend to propose to her

• And of course, as you have already noticed, after have we use bare Infinitive (without the particle to), and after get comes full Infinitive

This is the main feature of causative constructions in the English language. Memorizing them is quite simple, and their use will make your speech more vibrant and vivid. In addition, they will help you get rid of the need to use complex sentences, which means you don’t have to think about coordinating tenses.