CAUSATIVE USE OF HAVE / GET

HAVE / GET SOMETHING DONE

HAVE / GET SOMETHING DONE

The structure have something done is used to describe a service performed for us by someone else. Compare these two sentences:

Sue is cutting her hair (Sue is doing it herself)

Sue is having her hair cut, that is, The hairdresser is cutting Sue’s hair (She has arranged for someone else to do it).

HAVE + OBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE

-The word order is very important: HAVE + OBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE:

Jill had the roof fixed yesterday. Where did you have your hair permed? We are having the house painted at the moment. Tom has just had his tooth taken out. I’m going to have my hair trimmed tomorrow. Why don’t you have that dress dry-cleaned? We had the car delivered to the airport.

GET SOMETHING DONE

Get something done is possible instead of have something done. It is used mainly in informal spoken English and suggests more activity or effort.

Get is common when there is a feeling that something must be done:

I must go to the garage and get the car serviced.

GET SOMETHING DONE

It is also common in orders and imperatives: Get your hair cut!

There is a feeling of eventually managing something in some uses: I eventually got the car fixed / She always gets things done in this office.

Have / get something done: Other meanings

Sue had her car stolen while she was on holiday: This doesn’t mean that Sue arranged for someone to steal her car. It means that Sue’s car was stolen. So as we can see, with this meaning, we use have / get something done to say that something (often something unpleasant) happened to someone:

George had his nose broken in a fight. My arms got badly burned in the sun.