Exercise 1
Match the statements.
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a I got the car serviced. b She had her hair cut. c He’ll develop the film. d Pam painted her house. e I serviced the car. f Our house was burgled. g He’ll have the film developed. h We burgled the house. i She cut her hair. j Pam had her house painted. |
1 She paid someone to paint it. 2 He’s a photographer. 3 We’re the victims of a burglary. 4 She went to the hairdresser’s. 5 I went to a garage. 6 We’re burglars. 7 She cut it herself. 8 She likes painting. 9 He’ll take it to the camera shop. 10 I’m a mechanic. |
Exercise 2
Find the best sentence in each pair.
a Sarah went to the hairdresser’s and her hair was cut.
b Sarah went to the hairdresser’s and had her hair cut.
c My house was burgled.
d I had the house burgled.
e It’s time we serviced our car.
f It’s time we had our car serviced.
g Jack painted my kitchen.
h My kitchen was painted by a painter.
i Our window was smashed last night.
j We had our window smashed last night.
Exercise 3
Write the correct form of have + the object in brackets + a suitable participle from the list.
a I wonder what this bracelet is worth. I think I’ll (it).
b Shall we (the baby’s room) blue or pink?
c You really must (your guitar). It sounds terrible!
d I (the contract) last week.
e Next spring we (the roof).
f Your hair’s looking rather grey. When did you last (it)?
g Gregory never (his beard). It drives me crazy.
h I’d like to (some shelves). There isn’t enough room for my books.
i You ever (your picture) by a professional photographer?
j That’s the second time we (garden shed). Next time, I’ll call the police.
Exercise 4
Choose the best option, A or B.
a Keith ……………….. playing football. He was running too fast.
A broke his leg B ‘s leg was broken
b Janine ……………….. on her parents’ land.
A built a small house B had a small house built
c I’m sorry but ………………..
A I crashed the car B I had the car crashed
d Lucy went to the beautician’s and ………………..
A her nails were painted B had her nails painted
e Tim ……………….. once a year.
A ‘s house is decorated B has his house decorated
Answers
Read the note to find out why.
1
a 5 -> A f 3 -> B
b 4 -> A g 9 -> A
c 2 -> C h 6 -> C
d 8 -> C i 7 -> C
e 10 -> C j 1 -> A
2 The best sentences are:
b -> A g -> C
c -> B i -> B
f -> A
3
a have it valued
b have the baby’s room painted
c have your guitar restrung
d had the contract drawn up
e ‘ll have the roof mended
f have it coloured
g has his beard trimmed
h have some shelves put up
i Have you ever had your picture taken
j ‘ve had our garden shed broken into
4
a A b B c A d B e B
Notes
A
Use have (or get) + object + past participle to say that you arrange for someone to do something for you.
8
Use the passive (object + be + past participle) when something happens that you didn’t arrange.
C
Use the active (subject + verb + object) when the subject does the action.
Review
Have/Get something done
Unlike some other languages, in English you can’t say that you do, did or will do something if you mean that someone else does the action. So, for example, you can ‘t say ‘I’m going to service the car’ if you mean that you’re going to take it to a garage and a mechanic is going to service it for you. Instead. you can use the structure have/get something done: ‘I’m going to have the car serviced.’
– You use have (or get) + object + past participle to say that you arrange for someone to do something for you. Often it’s a service that you pay for.
I’m having my hair cut next week. Let’s get the dog shampooed.
Note that get is more informal than have but the meaning is the same.
I’m going to get my computer fixed. = I’m going to have my computer fixed.
– You use the passive (object + correct form of be + past participle) when something happens that you didn’t arrange and didn’t want.
Our house was broken int o last night.
(I didn’t arrange for this to happen.)
My wallet was stolen in the shopping centre.
– You can also use have + object + past participle to talk about experiences. Often these experiences are unpleasant.
Peter had his motorbike stolen last summer.
(He didn’t arrange for this to happen. It was something that happened to him.)
We’ve had our car vandalized five times this year.
– You use the active (subject + verb + object) when the subject does the action.
I cut my hair last night. It looks a mess! John’s repaired my computer.
(I did it myself.) (He’s a computer engineer.)
– You can use have/get + object + past participle in all tenses.
I’m having my hair cut at the moment.
I have my car serviced twice a year.
I was having the house valued when he arrived.
I had the window mended.
I’ve had my house broken into twice.
I’ve been having the kitchen painted.
I’d had my portrait painted once before.
I’d been having my films processed there for years.
I’m going to have the dog shampooed.
I’ll have this jacket dry-cleaned, please.