46. Have something done ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

46. Have something done

A	Study this example situation: The roof of Lisa's house was damaged in a storm. So she called a builder, and yesterday a man came and repaired it. ·         Lisa had the roof repaired yesterday. This means: Lisa arranged for somebody else to repair the roof. She didn't repair it herself. We use have something done to say that we arrange for somebody else to do something for us. Compare: ·         Lisa repaired the roof. (=she repaired it herself) Lisa had the roof repaired. (=she arranged for somebody else to repair it) ·         'Did you make those curtains yourself?' 'Yes, I enjoy making things.' 'Did you have those curtains made?' 'No, I made t hem myself.'
B	Be careful with word order. The past participle (repaired/ cut etc.) is after the object: have object past participle Lisa had Where did you have Your hair looks nice. Have you had Our neighbour has just had We are having How often do you have I think I should have I don’t like having the roof your hair it a garage the house your car that coat my picture repaired yesterday cut? cut? built. painted this week. serviced? cleaned. taken.
C	Get something done You can also say 'get something done' instead of 'have something done': ·         When are you going to get the roof repaired? (=have the roof repaired) ·         I think you should get your hair cut really short.
D	Sometimes have something done has a different meaning. For example: ·         Paul and Karen had their bags stolen while they were travelling. This does not mean that they arranged for somebody to steal their bags. 'They had their bags stolen' means only: 'Their bags were stolen'. With this meaning, we use have something done to say that something happens to somebody or their belongings. Often what happens is not nice: ·         Gary had his nose broken in a fight. (= his nose was broken) ·         Have you ever had your bike stolen?

EXERCISES

46.1	Tick(√ ) the correct sentence, (a) or (b), for each picture. a)       Sarah is cutting her hair. b)       Sarah is having her hair cut. a)         Bill is cutting his hair. b)         Bill is having his hair cut. a)    John is cleaning his shoes. b)    John is having his shoes cleaned. a)    Sue is taking a picture. b)    Sue is having her picture taken.
46.2	Put the words in the correct order. 1 had /a few weeks ago /the house /we /painted. _____We had the house painted a few weeks ago________________ 2 serviced /her car /Sarah /once a year /has Sarah ________________________________________________ 3 twelve pounds /have /cleaned /it /my suit /cost /to ______________________________________________________ 4 my eyes /I /two years ago /had /tested /the last time /was ______________________________________________________ 5 had /in the kitchen /fitted /some new cupboards /we've ______________________________________________________ 6 as soon as possible /need /translated /we /to get /this document _____________________________________________________
46.3	Write sentences in the way shown. 1 Lisa didn't repair the roof herself. She _____ had it repaired. ________ 2 I didn't cut my hair myself. I __________________________________ 3 We didn't dean the carpets ourselves. We _____________________ 4 John didn't build that wall himself. ____________________________ 5 I didn't deliver the flowers myself. _____________________________
46.4	Use the words in brackets to complete the sentences. Use the structure have something done. 1 ______ We’re having the house painted________ (we /the house /paint) this week. 2 I lost my key. I'll have to _____________ (another key /make). 3 When was the last time _______________ (you /your hair /cut)? 4 __________________ (you /a newspaper /deliver) to your house every day, or do you go out and buy one? 5 A: What's happening in your garden? B: Oh, ___________ (we /a garage /build). 6 A: _____________  (you /the washing machine /fix)? B: Not yet. There's someone coming to look at it next week. 7 If you want to wear earrings, why don't you _________________ (you /your ears /pierce)? Now use 'have something done' with its second meaning (see Section D). 8 Gary was in a fight last night. He _____ had his nose broken. ______(he /his nose /break). 9 Did I tell you about Jane?__________ (she /her credit cards /steal). 10 Security was very strict at the airport. _____________________ (we all /our bags /search).

ANSWER KEY

46.1 1 b 2 a 3 a 4 b 46.2 2 Sarah has her car serviced once a year. 3 It cost twelve pounds to have my suit cleaned. 4 The last time I had my eyes tested was two years ago. 5 We've had some new cupboards fitted in the kitchen. 6 We need to get this document translated as soon as possible. 46.3 2 I had it cut. 3 We had them cleaned. 4 He had it built. 5 I had them delivered. 46.4 2 have another key made 3 you had your hair cut 4 Do you have a newspaper delivered 5 we're having I we are having a garage built 6 Have you had the washing machine fixed I Did you have the washing machine fixed 7 have your ears pierced 9 She had her credit cards stolen. 10 We all had our bags searched.