Have Something Done

Have Something Done

Have Something Done | Sprachschule Münster

The structure "I had my mechanic check the engine." follows the causative have construction, which is used to indicate that someone else performs an action for the subject.

Breakdown of the sentence:

  • "I had" → past tense of "have" (causative verb)

  • "my mechanic" → the person who performs the action

  • "check" → base form of the verb (bare infinitive, not in the past or past perfect)

In causative constructions with "have", the verb that follows the object is always in the bare infinitive (without "to").

Meaning:

The sentence means that you arranged for your mechanic to check the engine.

If you wanted to say that the checking was completed before another past event, you would use the past perfect: ✅ "I had had my mechanic check the engine before the trip."
(In this case, "had had" is the past perfect form of "have," and "check" remains in the bare infinitive.)

Would you like more examples of causative constructions?

 

In the sentence "I had my bike repaired.", the structure follows the causative have again, but this time in the passive voice.

Breakdown:

  • "I had" → past tense of "have" (causative verb)

  • "my bike" → object receiving the action

  • "repaired" → past participle (passive form)

Explanation:

This means that someone else repaired your bike (you didn’t do it yourself, but you arranged for it to be done).

Unlike the first sentence ("I had my mechanic check the engine."), where "check" is in the bare infinitive because the mechanic is the doer of the action, here, "repaired" is in the past participle because the sentence is passive—the person doing the repair is not mentioned.

Active vs. Passive in Causative:

  1. Active (someone is mentioned doing the action):

    • "I had my mechanic repair the bike." (Mechanic = subject of "repair")

  2. Passive (the doer is not mentioned):

    • "I had my bike repaired." (Someone repaired it, but we don't say who)

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In some of these exercises more than one answer is possible. I will do my best to correct this when I have time.

The Body 4

Practice Exercise: Have Something Done & Have Someone Do Something

1. I had my car ______.
a) painted (gemalt)
b) done (gemacht)
c) washed (gewschen)

2. I had my assistant ______ the flights.
a) cancel
b) book
c) delay

3. I had my house ______.
a) painted
b) cleaned
c) demolished

4. I had my secretary ______ the meetings.
a) schedule
b) ignore
c) cancel

5. I had my bike ______.
a) sold
b) painted
c) repaired

6. I had my lawyer ______ the contract.
a) review
b) shred
c) sign

7. I had my suit ______.
a) burned
b) tailored
c) donated

8. I had my mechanic ______ the engine.
a) remove
b) check
c) ignore

9. I had my phone ______.
a) broken
b) thrown away
c) fixed

10. I had my assistant ______ the emails.
a) send
b) delete
c) ignore

Practice Exercise: Have Something Done & Have Someone Do Something

11. I had my shoes ______.
a) repaired (repariert)
b) cleaned
c) polished (poliert)

12. I had my computer ______.
a) broken (kaputt)
b) repaired (repariert)
c) sold (verkauft)

13. I had my garden ______.
a) ignored (ignoriert)
b) landscaped (gestaltet)
c) abandoned (aufgegeben)

14. I had my assistant ______ the documents.
a) lose (verlieren)
b) arrange (ordnen)
c) delete (löschen)

15. I had my house ______.
a) repainted (neu gestrichen)
b) demolished (abgerissen)
c) neglected (vernachlässigt)

16. I had my friend ______ my dog to the vet.
a) feed (füttern)
b) take (bringen)
c) ignore (ignorieren)

17. I had my accountant ______ the tax report.
a) ignore (ignorieren)
b) prepare (vorbereiten)
c) delete (löschen)

18. I had my glasses ______.
a) lost (verloren)
b) fixed (repariert)
c) sold (verkauft)

19. I had my hair ______.
a) dyed (gefärbt)
b) cut (geschnitten)
c) ignored (ignoriert)

20. I had my secretary ______ the reports.
a) shred (schreddern)
b) print (drucken)
c) ignore (ignorieren)

21. I had my plumber ______ the leak.
a) ignore (ignorieren)
b) fix (reparieren)
c) worsen (verschlimmern)

22. I had my dentist ______ my teeth.
a) check (überprüfen)
b) extract (ziehen)
c) ignore (ignorieren)

23. I had my assistant ______ lunch.
a) order (bestellen)
b) skip (auslassen)
c) throw away (wegwerfen)

24. I had my landlord ______ the broken lock.
a) replace (ersetzen)
b) remove (entfernen)
c) ignore (ignorieren)

25. I had my tailor ______ my suit.
a) burn (verbrennen)
b) adjust (anpassen)
c) sell (verkaufen)

26. I had my mechanic ______ the tires.
a) replace (ersetzen)
b) remove (entfernen)
c) ignore (ignorieren)

27. I had my photographer ______ professional headshots.
a) take (machen)
b) delete (löschen)
c) ruin (ruinieren)

28. I had my bank ______ a new credit card.
a) issue (ausstellen)
b) block (sperren)
c) ignore (ignorieren)

29. I had my assistant ______ a hotel room.
a) reserve (reservieren)
b) cancel (stornieren)
c) forget (vergessen)

30. I had my coach ______ a training plan.
a) ignore (ignorieren)
b) design (gestalten)
c) delete (löschen)

Have Something Done

Have Something Done

Have Something Done | Sprachschule Münster