The structure “Have something done” is commonly used in communication and English language proficiency tests. There are cases where if students do not fully understand this structure, it can be a quite challenging question and may lead to errors. In this article, EssayKing will share some basic knowledge related to this structure with you.
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 yoursel? “yes, I enjoy making things.”
Did you have those curtains made? “No, I made them myself.”
Be careful with word order. The past participle (repaired/cut etc.) is after the object:
| Have | Object | Past participle |
| Lisa had | the roof | repaired yesterday. |
| Where did you have | your hair | cut? |
| Your hair looks nice. Have you had | it | cut? |
| Our neighbour has just had | a garage | built. |
| We are having | the house | painted this week. |
| How often do you have | your car | serviced? |
| I think you should have | that coat | cleaned |
| I don’t like having | my picture | taken. |
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.
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?
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