Causatives: Have and Get: That Someone Else Did For Us or For Another Person. It Means That
Causatives: Have and Get: That Someone Else Did For Us or For Another Person. It Means That
Causatives: Have and Get: That Someone Else Did For Us or For Another Person. It Means That
USE
We use a causative verb when we want to talk about something
that someone else did for us or for another person. It means that
the subject caused the action to happen, but didn't do it
themselves. Maybe they paid, or asked, or persuaded the other
person to do it.
For example, we can say:
• I cleaned my house. (This means I cleaned it myself).
If I paid someone to clean it, of course I can say:
• A cleaner cleaned my house.
But, another way is to use a causative construction. So I can also
say:
• I had my house cleaned.
In a sense, using a causative verb is similar to using a passive.
The important thing is that the house is now clean. We don't
focus on who did the cleaning.
Have + object + past participle (have something done)
We usually use 'have something done' when we are talking about
paying someone to do something for us. It's often used for services.
The form is 'subject + have + object + past participle'.
• I had my car washed.
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Get + object + past participle (get something done)
We can also use 'subject + get + object + past participle'. This
has the same meaning as 'have', but is less formal.
• The students get their essays checked.
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