Go back

Causative have and get

have/get + something + past participle

We use have/get + something + past participle when we ask someone else to do something for us.

I've just had my car serviced. (i.e. Someone has serviced my car.)

Get is more informal. Have is more formal.

Have and get can be used in any tense or form.

If something is a negative experience, you must use have, and not get.

have + someone + infinitive

If we mention who is doing something for us, we use the form have + someone + infinitive.

We are having the architect redesign the ground floor.

Susanne had her brother prune all the trees.

get + someone + to + infinitive

We can also use get, but we must use to before the infinitive. Get someone to do something often implies the idea that you have convinced someone to do something.

I got a mechanic to take a look at the car.

Tom’s boss got him to go to a conference in Germany.

Additional resources