Have and Get Something Done: Arranging Services
By the end: I can describe a service I arrange while identifying the thing acted on and the time of the arrangement.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Choose a short recording.
Before you start
What do you normally do yourself, and what do you ask someone else to do?
Useful background: Passive Voice; common past participles; basic future plans.
Arrange an action on an object
Have or get + object + past participle can describe arranging for someone else to do a service. The subject organises or receives the service, while the object receives the action.
I had my bicycle repaired.
We got the windows cleaned.
Put time on have or get
Change have or get to show the time and aspect; keep the final participle. Use a question auxiliary as appropriate. Get often sounds more conversational, but both forms are useful.
I’m having my laptop checked tomorrow.
Did you get the lock replaced?
Do not infer arrangement automatically
The same surface pattern can describe an unwanted experience, as in had my bag stolen. Context determines whether the subject arranged anything. When the agent matters, name it with by or use an active sentence.
I had the picture framed by a local shop.
She had her phone stolen; she did not arrange the theft.
Guided practice
Say or write your answer first. Compare the meaning and form; the model is one possible answer.
1. Transform an arranged service: A technician repaired my screen for me.
Compare a model and explanation
I had my screen repaired.
The subject arranges the service; the screen receives the action.
2. Complete: We got the room ___. Use paint.
Compare a model and explanation
painted
Use a past participle after the object.
3. Make a past question: You had the key copied.
Compare a model and explanation
Did you have the key copied?
Use did plus have; copied remains unchanged.
4. Describe a future appointment: Someone will check my camera equipment tomorrow.
Compare a model and explanation
I’m having my camera equipment checked tomorrow.
The present continuous presents a future service arrangement; checked describes the action performed on the equipment.
5. Name the agent: I had the photo printed. A local shop did it.
Compare a model and explanation
I had the photo printed by a local shop.
By introduces the service provider.
6. Explain the difference in the supplied context: I repaired my bike myself. / I had my bike repaired by a mechanic.
Compare a model and explanation
In the first I did the repair; in the second I arranged for a mechanic to do it.
Explicit myself and by a mechanic remove ambiguity.
7. Correct: I got repaired my phone.
Compare a model and explanation
I got my phone repaired.
Put the receiving object before the participle.
8. Does had my bag stolen necessarily describe a deliberate arrangement? Explain.
Compare a model and explanation
No. It commonly describes an unwanted experience.
The construction is broader than arranged services.
A short conversation
Listen first if you can, then open the transcript when useful.
Open the conversation transcript
A: Did you repair the projector yourself?
B: No, I had it checked by a technician. The cable needed replacing.
A: Are you getting the screen replaced too?
B: Not yet. I’ll have it cleaned first and see whether that solves the problem.
Listening checks
Listen to each extract or open its transcript. These three questions have their own score.
Mastery quiz
Choose the best answer in each situation. Your score is out of eight.
Use it in your own words
Speaking task 1
Plan repairs for a fictional study room: paint the walls, check the projector and clean the chairs. Say what you will arrange and what you will do yourself.
Reveal a possible response
I’ll have the walls painted and get the projector checked by a technician. I’ll clean the chairs myself because that is a simple job.
Success check: Keep arranged services separate from actions you perform personally.
Speaking task 2
Describe two completed services and ask your partner about one planned appointment.
Reveal a possible response
I had my bike repaired last week and got a photograph printed yesterday. Are you having anything checked or replaced soon?
Success check: Put the tense on have/get and retain the correct participles.
Speaking task 3
Explain why the same construction can describe repair and theft without the same intention.
Reveal a possible response
I had my phone repaired normally describes a service I arranged. I had my phone stolen normally describes something unwanted that happened to me. The surrounding context tells us whether arrangement is involved.
Success check: Do not infer intention from the surface form alone.
Take it with you
I can describe a service I arrange while identifying the thing acted on and the time of the arrangement.