Grammar
Have and get something done: the causative
Your laptop stops working before a deadline. You take it to a technician, then later say: I had my laptop repaired.
Use have or get plus an object and a past participle to describe an arranged service, and recognise when have describes an unwanted experience instead.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
I had my laptop repaired. /aɪ hæd maɪ ˈlæptɒp rɪˈpeəd/
The short answer
Have or get plus an object and a past participle means that you arrange for someone else to do something: I had my laptop repaired. Get is often more informal than have.
Nora had her bike serviced before the trip.
Why it works: Nora arranged the service. A mechanic did the work.
5 more examples
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I had my laptop repaired after it stopped charging.
The speaker arranged for another person to repair the laptop.
Not this:I
repaired my laptopafter it stopped charging. What changes: This sentence says that the speaker did the repair personally. -
We are having the kitchen painted before our guests arrive.
The present continuous shows an arranged service that is planned or in progress.
Not this:We
are painting the kitchenbefore our guests arrive. What changes: This version says that we will do the painting ourselves. -
Leila got her passport photo taken at the station.
Get has the same basic pattern here and sounds natural in an everyday account.
Not this:A photographer
took Leila's passport photoat the station. What changes: This sentence names the person who performed the action. -
They have had the lift inspected twice this year.
The present perfect links completed inspections to the present period of time.
Not this:An engineer
has inspected the lifttwice this year. What changes: This sentence focuses on the engineer's action rather than the arranged inspection. -
Did you get your winter coat cleaned before the cold weather began?
A question uses do or did before get, while the rest of the causative pattern stays the same.
Not this:Did you
clean your winter coatbefore the cold weather began? What changes: This question asks whether you did the cleaning yourself.
Read the full guide
Start with the person who arranges the service, then add the thing affected and the past participle. Say We had the kitchen painted, not We had painted the kitchen, when a painter did the work. Choose get in the same pattern when it suits the situation and level of formality.
Use the pattern for a service you arrange
Use this pattern when you arrange for another person to carry out an action. The structure is subject plus have or get, then the affected thing, then a past participle. The person who does the work may be obvious, unknown, or simply unimportant to the message.
Mina had her curtains shortened last Saturday.
Mina arranged the alteration. The sentence does not say who shortened the curtains.
Who did the shortening in this sentence?
Another person did it, probably someone who offers alteration services. Mina arranged for the work to happen.
Keep the object before the past participle
After have or get, name the thing that receives the action. Then use the past participle. Say have the screen replaced or get the screen replaced. The past participle describes the completed action on the screen.
The shop will get the cracked screen replaced tomorrow.
The order is screen, then replaced. Do not put to before replaced in this causative pattern.
Which form fits: have the lock repaired or have the lock to repair?
Use have the lock repaired. Repaired is the past participle after the object lock.
Change have or get for time and questions
The first verb carries the tense. Use have for a regular service, had for a past service, and are having for a planned or ongoing arrangement. Use do, does, or did to make questions with get, or with have when have is an ordinary verb.
I have my eyes tested once a year.
Did Sam get the documents translated last month?
Have changes to show time. Tested and translated stay in the past participle form.
How would you ask about a past repair with get?
Use Did you get the repair done? Did shows the past time, and get remains in the base form.
Choose have or get to suit the situation
Have and get can both describe an arranged service. Have is common in neutral and formal writing. Get is often more conversational and can suggest that arranging the service took some effort. The difference is usually one of tone, not a change in the basic grammar.
The clinic had the forms translated for new patients.
I finally got the forms translated before the meeting.
Both sentences describe a completed service. Finally makes the effort in the second situation more noticeable.
Which verb may sound more natural when you are telling a friend about a difficult arrangement?
Get often fits an everyday account, especially when the arrangement required effort. Have is also possible.
Separate an arranged service from an unwanted event
Context sometimes changes the meaning of have something done. In an arranged service, the action is wanted: I had my car washed. In an unwanted-event meaning, the subject experiences something bad: I had my phone stolen. The grammar looks similar, so the situation supplies the meaning.
Ravi had his jacket cleaned after the party.
Cleaning a jacket is a service Ravi chose. He arranged it.
Ravi had his jacket stolen at the party.
Stealing a jacket is an unwanted event. Ravi did not arrange it.
Does have my phone stolen describe a service?
No. It says that the speaker experienced an unwanted theft.
Before you go
Remember this
Use have or get plus an object and a past participle when you arrange for another person to do a service. Change have or get for the tense you need, and keep the final verb in the past participle form. Remember that have something done can also describe an unwanted experience when the context makes that meaning clear.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Have and get something done: the causative"
What does have something done mean?
Have something done usually means that you arrange for another person to provide a service. The object receives the action, and the past participle names that action. Use it for services such as repairs, cleaning, haircuts, or inspections.
I had my laptop repaired after it stopped charging.
What is the difference between have something done and do something yourself?
Have something done says that someone else performs the service for you. When you use the ordinary active verb, you say that you performed the action yourself. The different forms change who is responsible for the work.
I repaired my laptop after it stopped charging.
Can I use get something done instead of have something done?
Yes. Get something done uses the same object plus past participle pattern and often sounds more conversational. Have is a neutral choice in many situations. Get can also suggest that arranging the service required effort.
We are having the kitchen painted before our guests arrive.
Which verb form comes after have or get something done?
Use a past participle after the object: have the door painted, get the report printed, or had the boiler checked. Do not use to before the final verb in this pattern. Change have or get when you need a different tense.
We are painting the kitchen before our guests arrive.
Does have something done always describe a service?
No. In some contexts, have something done describes an unwanted experience rather than an arrangement. A sentence about a theft or an accident usually means that the event happened to the person. Read the whole situation before deciding on the meaning.
Leila got her passport photo taken at the station.