Unit 9
Lesson 2
SB page 73
GRAMMAR
The causative: have/get/want something done
● We use the causative to talk about actions which we caused to happen. When we have or get something done for us, we cause it to happen. We use the causative to say that we do not do an action, but instead ask someone else to do it for us.
● We use verbs like have, get and want in the causative.
● We use have/get/want + noun + past participle to form this structure.
-I had my teeth checked by a dentist.
-I will get my car fixed tomorrow.
-I want my lawn mowed today, please. Have you got time?
● We use have and get to mean the same thing.
-I had this picture painted [by a painter] yesterday.
-I got this picture painted [by a painter] yesterday.
The meaning of both these sentences is ‘This picture was painted by a painter yesterday, after I asked him/her to paint it.’
● We use want as a causative to talk about wanting something to be done.
-I want my house repainted so I’m going to phone a decorator.
-I wanted my suit cleaned so I took it to a dry cleaner's.
The meanings of these sentences are ‘I wanted someone to repaint my house so I phoned a decorator’ and ‘I wanted someone to clean my suit, so I took it to a dry cleaner's.’