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THE CAUSATIVE FORM (‘have/get

something done’)
Study this example situation:

The roof of Jill’s house was damaged in a storm, so she arranged for somebody to repair it.
Yesterday a workman came and did the job.
Jill had the roof repaired yesterday.
This means: Jill arranged for somebody else to repair the roof. She didn’t repair it herself.

We use have something done to say that we arrange for somebody else to do something for
us.
Compare:
• Jill repaired the roof (= she repaired it herself)
• Jill had the roof repaired (= she arranged for somebody else to repair it).
Study these sentences:
• Did Ann make the dress herself or did she have it made?
• Are you going to repair the car yourself?’ ‘No, I’m going to have it repaired’.
Be careful with word order. The past participle (repaired, cut, etc) is AFTER the object (the roof, your hair,
etc.):

have + object + past participle

Jill had the roof repaired yesterday.
Where did you have your hair cut?
Your hair looks nice. Have you had it cut?
Julia has just had central heating installed in her house.
We are having the house painted at the moment.
How often do you have your car serviced?
I think you should have that coat cleaned soon.
I don’t like having my photograph taken

1.- Tick the correct sentence, a) or b), for each picture.

2. 3. 4.
1.
a.- Sarah is cutting her hair. a.- Bill is cutting his hair. a.- John is cleaning his a.- Sue is taking a
b.- Sarah is having her hair b.- Bill is having his hair cut. shoes. photograph.
cut. b.- John is having his shoes b.- Sue is having her
cleaned. photograph taken.

TENSES:
(you do it yourself) (someone else does it for you)
Present Simple
We paint the house every year We have the house painted every year.
Present Continuous
We are painting the house now. We are having the house painted now.
Past Simple
We painted the house last year. We had the house painted last year.
Past Continuous
We were painting the house then. We were having the house painted then.
Present Perfect
We have just painted the house. We have just had the house painted.
Past Perfect
We had painted the house. We had had the house painted.
‘going to’ future
We are going to paint the house We are going to have the house painted.
‘will’ future.
We’ll paint the house if we have money. We’ll have the house painted if we have money.
modals (must, should, can, etc.)
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We should paint the house. We should have the house painted.

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2.- Why did you do these things? Answer using ‘have something done’. Use one of these verbs:
clean – cut – repair – service.
1. Why did you take your car to the garage? To have it serviced.
2. Why did you take your jacket to the cleaner’s?
3. Why did you take your watch to the jeweller’s?
4. Why did you go to the hairdresser?

3.- Write sentences in the way shown.

1. Jill didn’t repair the roof herself. Jill had the roof repaired.
2. I didn’t cut my hair myself.
3. They didn’t paint the room themselves.
4. Sue didn’t make the curtains herself.

4.- Fill in the spaces by inserting the correct form of have, the past participle of the verb in brackets, and, where
necessary, a pronoun.
1. We must _____________ the grass________________,. It is far too long. (cut)
2. Your roof is leaking, you should _________ it _____________ repair.
3. My skirt is too long. I must _________________________ (shorten).
4. ‘No one will be able to read your notes’. ‘I know. I _______________ them ________________ (type).
5. That’s a good piano but you should _________________ it ___________________ (tune)
6. I’ve got paint on my coat; now I’ll have to ________________________________ (clean).
7. He didn’t like the colour of the curtains so he _________________________ (dye).
8. He went to a garage to _________________ the puncture ______________________ (mend).
9. His arm was broken so he went to hospital to _________________________ (set).
10. That tooth is giving you a lot of trouble; you should ____________________________ (take out).
11. The room is very shabby, but I ________________________________next month. (redecorate).
12. They couldn’t find a house to suit them so they ________________ one ______________ (build)

5.- Look at the pictures and write sentences about what these people are having done. Use these words:

cut – plant – clean – make – test – repair – build – paint

1. 2.
3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

1. _______________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________________
6. _______________________________________________________________________
7. _______________________________________________________________________
8. _______________________________________________________________________
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6.- Put a tick (√) next to the sentences which are correct and a cross (x) next to the sentences which are
incorrect.
1. Yesterday I had my car repair.
2. We’re going to get cut our hair by the new hairdresser.
3. Did you have your house decorate by professionals?
4. Are you going to get the tyres changed?
5. I don’t know a thing about computers so when my computer broke I did have it repaired.
6. She’s having a new telephone installing.
7. That switch is dangerous. You must have fix it by professionals.
8. She has her eyes test once a year.

7.- Use the causative form:

1. A: I’ve had a lot of headaches recently.
You: Perhaps you should (eyes/test) _________________________
2. A: My dad’s car is making a very funny noise.
You: It could be dangerous. He should (check)_____________________
3. A: I hate my new hairstyle!
You: Why don’t you (cut) _________________________ again somewhere else?
4. A: This telly is broken!
You: (mend) __________________________________

8.- Rewrite the following passive sentences using the structure have + something + done.
1. My hair was cut at the hairdresser’s yesterday. I …
2. His wrist was broken in a football match. He…
3. The Director asked the nurses to look after the babies. The Director…
4. My television has broken down. I’ll ask the engineer to repair it this afternoon. I’ll…

9.- Choose the correct alternatives.

1. I know a place where you can clean / get your car cleaned / get cleaned your car very cheaply.
2. My leg really hurts. I must get it checked / check it / get checked it.
3. Where can you have your photo taken / have taken your photo / take your photo round here?
4. It’s more expensive to cut your hair / have cut your hair / have your hair cut in England than in Spain.
5. If you pay extra, you can have delivered the sofa / have the sofa delivered / deliver the sofa.
6. I took my mobile phone to the shop yesterday to have to fix it / fix it / have it fixed.
7. You can get your invitations printed / get printed your invitations / print your invitations at this shop.
8. I need to test my eyes / get my eyes tested / get tested my eyes before I take my driving test.
9. My brother has taken his motorbike to the garage to get it repaired / repair it / get repaired it.

10.- Complete the sentences. Use the correct form of have something done.
1. She __________________________________(her bedroom/paint) every few years.
2. I think I ______________________________ (my hair/cut) short for the summer.
3. Celia ________________ never ____________________ (a tooth/take out).
4. We _______________________________ (satellite TV/install) three years ago.
5. I ________________ never __________________ (my fortune/tell)
6. We ________________________ probably _________________________ (the kitchen/extend) next year.
7. She _____________________________ (her dress/make) when she got married.
8. The children _______________________ (their faces/paint) by a clown at the fair.
9. My grandparents ________________________________ (their windows/clean) once a week.

11.- Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first. Use the correct form of get something
done.
1. Someone fixed our fridge last week.
2. They are going to X-ray his arm tomorrow.
3. Someone is making a cake for us.
4. Someone needs to fix my computer.
5. The garage services my father’s car every year.
6. A photographer is taking their photo this afternoon.
7. How often does the dentist check your teeth?

12.- Rewrite the sentences using the correct form of have or get something done.
1. A dentist cleans Anna’s teeth every month. Anna…
2. My calls are answered by my secretary. I…
3. Her mechanic serviced Claudia’s car every year. Claudia…
4. Sarah is going to dye Linda’s hair for her. Linda…
5. The painters have just redecorated their house. They…
6. It is necessary to take your measurements before we can make your suit. You have to…
7. The shop assistant is wrapping the present for me. I …
8. Emily’s wedding dress is being designed especially for her. Emily….
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13.- Look at the things Rani and Hassan are having done to their house. Write sentences with the correct form of
have something done.

remove old stairs – tomorrow.

build new stairs – Tuesday and Wednesday
repair windows – Friday
connect electricity – next Monday
put in new kitchen – the week after next
install shower – two months’ time
deliver new furniture – July

They are having the old stairs removed tomorrow.

1. ______________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________
6. ______________________________________________________

14.- Choose the correct alternative.

1. I took my black shoes to the shop yesterday to have to mend them / mend them / have them mended.
2. Every year we get checked our air-conditioning / get our air-conditioning checked / check our air-conditioning by
an engineer.
3. Did you know that you can have to alter clothes / have altered clothes / have clothes altered at this shop?
4. I had my hair cut / cut my hair / had cut my hair at an expensive salon before the party.
5. We’re no good at making shelves, so we’re getting some made / getting made some / making some.
6. Rosa needs to have her bike repaired / have to repair her bike / have repaired her bike.

15.- Complete the sentences with the correct form of have something done.
1. Nest week I _______________________________ (a blind/fit) on my bedroom window to keep out the light.
2. When Rob and Hannah got married, they ___________________________(their wedding /film).
3. Do you know where I can _____________________________ (this DVD/copy?)
4. Our keys were stolen so we had to _______________________________ (the locks on the doors/change).
5. My mum ____________________________________ (her nails / paint) every week.
6. When I more into my new house I _________________________ (the windows / clean).
7. His house is a mess because he __________________________ at the moment. (the lounge/decorate).

16.- Complete the sentences with the correct form of get something done and the verbs in the list.
clean – send – dye – make – publish – redecorate – test

1. There’s red wine on the carpet. We’ll have to _______________________________

2. Jerry’s poems are really good. He should ___________________________________
3. Our phone didn’t work last month. We ____________________________ and they found a problem with the
line.
4. My aunt doesn’t like the colour of her hair so she’s going to ______________________ blonde.
5. ‘I’d like to order some books, please’. ‘OK, I’ll ___________________________ to you at your home address.’
6. ‘Sara looks fantastic in that dress, doesn’t she?’ ‘Yes. She ____________________________ especially for the
party.’
7. I hate the colour of the bedroom. Let’s _______________________________ next month.

17.- Review: Passive and active forms.

Complete the text with the correct form of the verb in brackets. You may need to use active or passive verbs, or
have or get something done.

Cathy Franklin is a top manager in a big telecommunications company. It’s a competitive career, and she
1______________ (select) for her position from over 1,000 candidates.
Last year, her company 2 _________________ (buy) by an important Asian multi-national, so in the future she and her
work team 3 _______________________ (supervise) by managers from Japan.
Next week, Cathy 4 _________________ (give) a presentation at a conference in Tokyo 5.
______________________ (attend) by managers from all over the world. Before she travels, Cathy
6_______________________ (need) to make a lot of preparations.
Appearance is important, so she usually 7 __________________ (cut) her hair _____________ and 8
________________ (dry clean) ___________________ her suits before she goes. When she arrives in Japan she 9
__________________ (check) her speech _____________ by an international expert. She 10 ______________
(hope) to make a good impression on the audience.