GRAMMAR: CAUSATIVES


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Pay attention to these sentence, who did the action?

 I fixed my laptop yesterday. 

 

Cuando una persona encarga/ ordena hacer algo y no es quien realiza la acci贸n tenemos dos formas de expresarlo:

The technician fixed my laptop

I got/ had my laptop fixed (by a technician). 

 

Ambas significan lo mismo,pero la segunda oraci贸n es lo que llamamos:

THE CAUSATIVE

Subject (who orders the action)+ have/get (active verb tense)+object+ Participle 

Vamos a verlo con ejemplos:

The hairdresser cut my hair

I had/got my hair cut.

Cuando pasamos de una activa a la causativa el posesivo nos ayuda a saber el sujeto de la causativa:

The mechanic repaired his car. 

He had/got his car repaired.

 

The vet is going to vaccinate our dog

We are going to have/get our dog vaccinated.


馃憖 ¿Tienes dudas? Don't you worry, my dear!Take a look below:

¿sabes qu茅 es y c贸mo se forma?

La causativa se usa en las situaciones en que t煤 no eres quien realiza la acci贸n, pero si quieres que se haga o mandas que as铆 sea. Veamos este ejemplo:

  • I got my hair cut

Se traduce por “Me cort茅 el pelo”, pudiendo significar que te lo cortaste t煤 mismo/a, aunque normalmente se sobreentiende que acudiste a una peluquer铆a


En cambio si usamos esta construcci贸n causativa en ingl茅s, lo que estamos haciendo es dejar claro que fue otra persona quien nos cort贸 el pelo porque nosotros lo pedimos expresamente.

No es lo mismo I get my hair cut que I cut my hair. En este segundo caso s铆 interpretamos que es uno mismo el que ha cogido unas tijeras y ha procedido.

Get y have

Para construir una frase causativa podemos usar indistintamente tanto el verbo get como el verbo have.

  • I got my hair cut
  • I had my hair cut

La base de la construcci贸n de esta causativa es por tanto:

  • GET something DONE
  • HAVE something DONE

Es decir, usamos el verbo GET/HAVE seguido de ese algo que mandamos hacer SOMETHING, y a continuaci贸n la acci贸n en forma de verbo en PARTICIPIO (como en el caso de done):

                                 GET/HAVE + SOMETHING + PARTICIPLE

 Resultado de imagen de the causative


A pesar de que te pueda parecer raro o dif铆cil al principio, it is a piece of cake!馃ギ

Ejemplos de la causativa

Realmente la causativa puede entenderse como un tipo de estructura en voz pasiva. 

Con la pr谩ctica y leyendo e interiorizando algunos ejemplos que los utilizar谩s alguna vez:

  • I want to have the walls of my house painted. 
– Pagas a alguien para que pinte.
  • They got their new car repaired yesterday. 
– Alguien, posiblemente un mec谩nico, les repar贸 el coche.
  • She has her room cleaned every week by a housekeeper. 
– Un o una trabajador le limpia cada semana la habitaci贸n.
  • Did your get hair cut at the hairdresser’s? 
– Un o una profesional le ha cortado el pelo, en la peluquer铆a
  • You need to get this computer fixed soon. Bring it to the technician tomorrow. 
– El ordenador ser谩 arreglado por un t茅cnico.

Y t煤, ¿qu茅 necesitas que alguien haga para ti? 

 

OK, now we're going to practice!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXERCISE 1. Rewrite these sentences using have or get

1. The mechanic changed the oil in my car. 

2. The hairdresser cut my hair in a completely different style.

3. A decorator has repainted our house. 

4. A friend of mine, who ́s an electrician, is going to repair my TV  next week.

5. My jacket is being cleaned at a specialist cleaner ́s. 

 

 

Keys:

 1. The mechanic changed the oil in my car. 

 

I had the oil in my car changed.

 2. The hairdresser cut my hair in a completely different style.

 

 I had my hair cut in a completely different style.

 3. A decorator has repainted our house. 

 

We have had our house repainted. 

 4. A friend of mine, who ́s an electrician, is going to repair my DVD player next week.

 

 I ́m going to have my DVD player repaired by a friend of mine, who ́s an electrician next week. 

5. My jacket is being cleaned at a specialist cleaner ́s. 

 

I ́m having my jacket cleaned at a specialist cleaner ́s. 

 

EXERCISE 3. Rewrite these sentences using have or get.

1. The technician repaired my TV yesterday.

2. She washes her car every week.

3. The dentist will remove my wisdom tooth next month.

4. The decorator can't decorate my house this year.

5. The architet is designing our house.

6. The editor will publish their new books this term.

7. Cleaners are ironing my new suit at the moment.

8. A plumber replaced the old pipes in my bathroom.

9. A technician has installed a new app on my laptop.

10. Doctors have tested my blood this afternoon

More EXERCISES

Match a word from 1-5 with something that is done by that person or in that place. Then make sentences using all the information and the verb in brackets.You may have to change the words or add new ones. (An example is given).

 1. hairdresser ́s 

2. dentist ́s 

3. doctor ́s 

4. vet ́s 

5. architect 


vaccinate dogs (have) 

 design new houses (have) 

cut hair (get) 

take out teeth (have)

take blood pressure

 Example:  

1. Tomorrow I ́m going to the hairdresser ́s to get my hair cut. 

 

2. Yesterday... 

3. This afternoon... 

4. Last week... 

5. Next Saturday... 

6. The day before yesterday... 

7. Last year...

 8. Next week..

 

KEY

EXERCISE  1

2. Yesterday, I went to the dentist to have a tooth taken out.

3. This afternoon, I ́m going to doctor ́s to have my blood pressure taken.

4. Last week, I went to the vet ́s to have my dog vaccinated. 

5. Next Saturday, I ́m going to see the architect to have my new house designed

 

 EXERCISE 2 Filling the gaps.


1. She needs to have/get her car repaired.

 

2. I'm going to have/ get my hair cut at the new hairdresser's.

 

3. I really must have/get the/our/ my central heating fixed.

 

4. They ought to have/get their broken windows replaced

 

5. I would have/get my house redecorated if I could afford it.