Causative Have
Formula
Examples
Usage
- •Arranging for someone else to do something for you
- •Expressing that a service was done by a professional
- •Formal and informal contexts (have = formal, get = informal)
More Examples
I'm having my teeth cleaned tomorrow.
Appointment arranged with a professional
She got her phone fixed at the shop.
Informal causative with "get"
They had their house built in 2015.
Past causative — arranged construction
I need to get my eyes tested.
Need to arrange a service
He had his wallet stolen.
Causative for unpleasant events (not arranged!)
Common Mistakes
- ✗Confusing causative "have" with possession "have": "I had a haircut" (I did it myself or got it done) vs "I had my hair cut" (someone else did it).
- ✗Forgetting the past participle: "I had my car repair" should be "I had my car repaired".
Tips
- ✓"Have something done" (neutral/formal) and "get something done" (informal) are interchangeable in most cases.
- ✓When the event is negative/unwanted (theft, accident), the causative still uses the same structure.
Advanced Notes
Causative "have" and "get" share the same structure but differ in register: "have" is neutral to formal, "get" is informal and slightly implies effort or difficulty in arranging. The passive voice looks superficially similar but means something different — "My car was repaired" (passive, someone repaired it) vs "I had my car repaired" (causative, I arranged for it to happen). The structure also covers unwanted experiences — "She had her bag stolen" — where no arrangement took place; context makes the reading clear. "Make + object + infinitive" and "let + object + infinitive" are related causative patterns with different force.
Compare With
Other B2 Topics
Past Perfect
Used for the earlier of two past events to show sequence
Future Perfect
Used for actions completed before a specific future point
Conditionals (0, 1, 2, 3)
Forms real, hypothetical, and impossible conditions across all time frames
Reported Speech
Used for converting direct speech to indirect speech with tense and pronoun shifts
Gerund vs Infinitive
Used for choosing between -ing and to+verb after verbs, adjectives, or prepositions
Past Perfect Continuous
Used for an ongoing action that continued up to a past event
Future Perfect Continuous
Used for duration of an ongoing action up to a future point
Modal Perfects: Deduction About the Past
Expresses deductions about past events using must/can't/might + have
Participle Clauses
Used for reducing clauses using -ing or past participle for concise formal style