In this post we’ll do a bit of grammar practice on a special use of the verb ‘have’, namely the causative have.
This structure is used when you want to say that you didn’t do something by yourself, but they you’ve simply arranged (i.e. caused) for someone else to do it for you.
It always follows the following pattern: have + object + Past Participle
Compare these two examples:
I have washed my car. – This is Present Perfect, where ‘have’ is the auxiliary verb. The sentence says that I washed the car by myself – ‘I’ is the subject.
I had my car washed. – Look at the pattern, with the object between the causative have and the Past Participle. This sentence implies that I asked someone else to wash the car for me.
Here’s another typical example:
I have cut my hair. – I did it myself.
I had my hair cut. – Someone else did it, presumably a hairdresser.
You can use the causative have in different tenses. For example:
I‘m having my hair cut. (I’m at the hairdresser’s right now.)
I‘ve had my hair cut. (Someone’s done it for me at some point in the past.)
I’m going to have my hair cut. (I intend to ask someone to do it.)
I’m sure this wasn’t very difficult. You can now click here to complete a simple grammar quiz on this topic.
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