Causative Have and Get

Causative Have and Get

Hello English learners. Welcome to a new lesson. We will learn about causative have and get.

We use causative when talking about something someone else did for us. For example, if we paint our house ourselves, we can say:

• I painted my house.

However, if we pay someone to paint our house for us, we say:

• I had my house painted.

We use it to describe an action such as a haircut, decoration, or a kind of service that someone provides for us.

• I’m having my hair cut at 11.
• David had his car fixed yesterday.

It is also used to describe unfortunate events without mentioning the agent.

• Laura had her wallet stolen on the public transport.
• We had our car damaged in the parking lot.

In a way, it is similar to passive because we usually do not mention the doer of the action.

The structure of the causative is:

Have + object + past participle

Present Simple Causative

• I have my teeth checked twice a year.
• Richard has his photographs taken at weddings and celebrations.
• They have their car serviced regularly.

Present Continuous Causative

• We are having our house decorated the day before Christmas.
• Paul is having his washing machine fixed in the afternoon.
• Larry is having his dog groomed on Saturday morning.

Causative have and get

Past Simple Causative

• Paul had his leg hurt while he was cycling.
• Maria had her mobile phone stolen yesterday.
• The Smiths had their house broken into last weekend.

Present Perfect Causative

• They’ve had their portrait taken by a famous artist.
• Peter’s had his car repainted.
• Wendy has had her eyes checked at the local optician’s.

To Be Going to Causative

• Teresa is going to have her face lifted next month.
• We are going to have the house’s electricity checked.
• Rob is going to have his piano tuned.

Infinitive Causative

• I’d like to have my steak well done.
• Terry wants to have his shirt mended at the local tailor’s.
• The Petersons want their house to be designed by this architect.

Causative Get

In everyday speech, we can use get instead of have. The structure is get + object + past participle.

• When are you going to get your car fixed?
• John is getting his garage built.
• Don’t you think we should get our lawn mown?
• Let’s get our carpets cleaned on Saturday.
• When was the last time you got your blog updated?

Remember not to use get causative with present perfect.

Mary’s got her ears pierced – Mary got her ears pierced.

Do the quiz to perfect your knowledge:

Causative-get-and-have-worksheet download the quiz

Causative have and get

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