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Ch 2

The Causative

I had the mechanic check it · I got her to help · Where do you get your hair cut? · He had his bike stolen

Building on B2

Someone else does it

At B2 you learned have / get something done: I had my hair cut. B2 adds the person who does it, uses the structure in every tense, and uses it for bad things that happen to you.

I had the mechanic check the brakes.
She had her phone stolen on holiday.

Naming the person

have someone do · get someone to do

have + person + infinitive
I'll have the porter carry your bags. (arranging, as part of their job)
get + person + to
I got my brother to help me. (persuading)
have someone do (no to) · get someone to do.

Questions and negatives

Use do / did with have

Where do you have your hair cut?
Did you get the car checked?
We didn't have the house painted — we did it ourselves.
have is a main verb here: Did you have it fixed? (not Had you it fixed?)

Every tense

have / get changes, the rest stays

present continuous
I'm having my car repaired this week.
present perfect
We've just had the kitchen painted.
future / modal
You should get your eyes tested.
-ing / to
I need to get my passport renewed.

Bad experiences

Something happened to you — you didn't arrange it

He had his bike stolen.
Someone stole his bike.
We had our flight cancelled.
She got her fingers trapped in the door.

Common mistakes

Where learners go wrong most often

I had the mechanic to check the car.
→
I had the mechanic check the car.
have + person + infinitive
I got my friend help me.
→
I got my friend to help me.
get + person + to
Had you your car repaired?
→
Did you have your car repaired?
question → do / did + have
I've just cut my hair at the hairdresser's.
→
I've just had my hair cut.
someone else did it → causative

Your turn

Answer out loud — full sentences

Use the causative.

1
What do you have done rather than do yourself?
2
Who can you get to help you when you're stuck?
3
Where do you have your hair cut? How often?
4
Have you ever had something stolen or damaged?

Recap

arrange, job
have + person + infinitive
I had the mechanic check it.
persuade
get + person + to
I got her to help.
question
Do / Did … have / get + object + PP?
Did you get it checked?
any tense
have / get + object + PP
I'm having it repaired.
bad experience
have + object + PP
He had his bike stolen.