Touchstone 2nd Edition • Language summary • Level 4

Unit 7 • Lesson A: Getting things done

Vocabulary
Shops and services
camera shop (n)
copy shop (n)
dry cleaners (n)
garage (n)
hairdresser (n)
hair salon (n)
interior designer (n)
optometrist (n)

Doing things yourself

cut your own hair / bangs (v)
do your own car repairs (v)
do your own decorating (v)
fix something yourself (v)
iron your own clothes (v)

Home maintenance
build a new house (v)
decorate a house (v)
file (papers) (v)
flood (the apartment) (v)
pick (curtains) out (v)
repair (water damage) (v)

© Cambridge University Press 2014 Unit 7, Lesson A, Page 1

Touchstone 2nd Edition • Language summary • Level 4

Car maintenance
break down (v)
change a tire (v)
do routine things like put oil in the car (v)
have a flat tire (v)
service a car (v)
take a look at (a car) (v)

Causative verbs
get someone to do something (v)
get something done (= passive) (v)
have someone do something (v)
have something done (= passive) (v)

Other words
dishwasher (n)
memory card (n)
stain (n)
water damage (n)
built (= irregular past of build) (v)
built (= past participle of build) (v)

Expressions
I'll never try that again.
It saves me money.
Not anymore.

© Cambridge University Press 2014 Unit 7, Lesson A, Page 2

Touchstone 2nd Edition • Language summary • Level 4

Grammar
Causative get and have
Causative means "make something happen." You can make something happen by asking
someone to do it.

You can use get and have to talk about asking people to do things for you.

Showing who you ask

When you want to show who you ask, you can use get + someone + to + verb:

I get my brother to fix my car. (= I ask my brother to fix my car.)

We'll get my sister to choose colors for our house. (= We'll ask my sister to choose.)

You can also use have + someone + verb:

My hair looked bad, so I had a hairdresser cut it again. (= I paid for this.)

I didn't pay to have someone repair my dishwasher. (= I didn't pay for this.)

Get and have have the same meaning in these sentences, but after get you need to use to
before the verb:

I get my brother to fix the car.

I have my brother fix the car.

Not showing who you ask

When who you ask is not important, use get or have + something + past participle:

I get my car fixed at my uncle's garage.

I always get my hair cut professionally.

We're having a new house built now.

It cost a lot to have the water damage repaired.

© Cambridge University Press 2014 Unit 7, Lesson A, Page 3