Using Causative Form

The causative form in English sentences looks like this:
have/had/get/got + something (noun/noun phrase) + past participles
Example sentences:
Jane wants to have/get her house repainted. (present tense sentence)
Morgan had/got all the fishing hooks sharpened before he went fishing. (past tense sentence)

The causative form is usually used when the speaker wants to convey the idea that he/she is not going to do the action, but someone else is.

Compare these two sentences. How do you infer from them?
Sentence 1: Laura wants to have/get her long hair cut.
Sentence 2: Laura wants to cut her long hair.

Sentence 1 conveys the idea that Laura is going to let the hairdresser cut her hair.
Sentence 2 conveys the idea that Laura is going to cut her hair herself.

Therefore, the causative form is usually used by English speakers who want to indicate that they are not going to do the action themselves.

More example sentences:
Peter wants to have/get his old car overhauled. (It means Peter is going to send his old car to the garage and let the mechanic do the job.)
Belinda had/got more than twenty new dresses made before her wedding. (It means Belinda asked a tailor or seamstress to make the dresses before her wedding.)

The causative form can also be used in polite requests.
"Could you please have your vehicle removed?" the security guard asked Mr Peterson politely.

The causative form can also be used in commands.
"Your clothes stink! Have/Get them washed at the laundry shop at once!" Kelvin reminded Henry.

Here is a short exercise for you. Use the causative form in your sentence reconstruction. Read the given example.
Example: Nancy wants somebody to clean her house.
Nancy wants to have/get her house cleaned.

1. Last summer, somebody repaired Joanne's electronic gate.
.................................................................................................

2. They asked someone to chop down the huge oak tree a few weeks ago.
.................................................................................................

3. Daisy wants someone to scrub the tiles in the bathroom.
.................................................................................................

4. Please move the furniture to the lobby.
.................................................................................................

Answers [Show][Hide]

Answers
1. Last summer, Joanne had/got her electronic gate repaired.
2. They had/got the huge oak tree chopped down a few weeks ago.
3. Daisy wants to have/get the tiles in the bathroom scrubbed.
4. Please have the furniture moved to the lobby.

You're excellent if you got all the four answers correct. If you got less than two correct, read the example sentences again.

By Susan L
On 12/30/2009 05:00:00 PM
1 Comment(s)

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Monday, January 18, 2010 7:51:00 AM

Genial brief and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you on your information. ~ by Anonymous

Using Causative Form

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