HAVE SOMETHING DONE (Causative in Passive)

THEY ARE REPAIRING THE CAR.

They are doing it by themselves maybe
because they know how to do it or they
have enough time or they just like it.

They ARE GETTING / HAVING the car

I CUT MY HAIR.
I do it myself without any help.
I’m the person who does the action.
I HAVE / GET my hair CUT (by a
hairdresser).
Another person does a service for
me. I hire a professional and s/he
does it, I pay or maybe I persuade
REPAIRED (by a mechanic).
Another person works for them. They pay or
persuade him / her, and they arrange in
advance. Maybe they don’t have time. They are
busy: They are not skillful enough, or they just
don’t like to do it.

We use the structure: HAVE or GET + SOMETHING + VERB IN PAST PARTICIPLE for saying that you get somebody else to do something for you. It
expresses the idea of someone causing something to take place. In this case the most important is the action; the person who does the action (agent or
doer) is optional: unknown or unnecessary.

HAVE and GET carry the same idea but GET is informal.

We can also use HAVE or GET + SOMETHING + VERB IN PAST PARTICIPLE in situations where something bad has happened to people or their
possessions. This is not something they wanted to happen, e.g.:

She HAD / GOT her money Tom HAS HAD / GOT his car
STOLEN last week SMASHED in an accident
 HAVE or GET
VERB IN PAST REST OF THE
SUBJECT (with any grammar structure, OBJECT (BY + AGENT)
PARTICIPLE SENTENCE
tense or modal)

HAS / GETS
He his picture TAKEN by a professional photographer
(Present Simple)
HAD / GOT a new
We INSTALLED at home.
(Past Simple) telephone
can HAVE / GET
You your car REPAIRED in a garage.
(Modal: can)

will HAVE / GET

Arnold the bushes TRIMMED by Sue
(Modal: will)

has HAD / GOT

John his composition WRITTEN by his brother
(Present Perfect)

need to HAVE / GET

I my clothes WASHED before travelling.
(Present Simple with need to)

is HAVING / GETTING
The teacher the blackboard ERASED now.
(Present Continuous)

has been HAVING/GETTING

She the tap FIXED
(Present Perfect Continuous)

had HAD / GOT

Mary her purse STOLEN yesterday.
(Past Perfect)

hope to HAVE / GET before the Olympic

We the uniforms DONE
(Present Simple with hope to) Games.