"Have something done" and "get something done" express that someone else does something for you (causative). "Get" is more informal and may imply more effort or achievement.
HAVE + OBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE: someone (a professional or third party) does something for you or on your behalf. "I had my car repaired" = I took the car to the mechanic and they repaired it (a third party did it for me). "She had her hair cut." "We had the office cleaned." Structure: HAVE + object (what is done) + PAST PARTICIPLE. More formal than GET. Can also express an unwanted experience: "She had her phone stolen" = her phone was stolen (something happened to her, she did not arrange it).
We need to have the air conditioning system serviced before summer — the last maintenance check was over a year ago.
She had the legal documents translated by a certified interpreter before submitting them to the international regulatory body.
They had the building's security system completely upgraded after the incident — new cameras, new access controls, and a new monitoring protocol.
GET + OBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE: same meaning as HAVE something done, but more INFORMAL and more common in everyday English. May imply that the process required some EFFORT or MANAGEMENT. "I got my car repaired" = I managed to get the car repaired (with some effort). "She got her hair cut." GET something done also has a distinct meaning: it can imply YOU YOURSELF did it: "I got the work done" = I completed the work (myself). Context determines whether it is causative or self-performed.
Did you get the presentation reviewed by the communications team? I want to make sure the messaging is consistent with the brand guidelines.
She finally got the contract signed after two weeks of negotiations — the other side kept requesting minor revisions at the last minute.
Let's get the data analyzed before the board meeting so we can present concrete numbers rather than preliminary estimates.
Common mistake
Most common errors: (1) Using infinitive instead of past participle: "I had my hair cut" = CORRECT. "I had my hair cutting" = INCORRECT. "I had my hair to cut" = INCORRECT. The causative structure requires PAST PARTICIPLE (cut, repaired, cleaned, translated). (2) Not distinguishing causative from simple HAVE: "I had lunch" (simple, I ate lunch) vs "I had lunch prepared" (causative, someone prepared lunch for me). The position of the past participle after the object identifies the causative. (3) "Get something done" vs "get to do something": "I got to present" = I had the opportunity to present (GET TO + infinitive = opportunity). "I got the presentation done" = I completed/had the presentation done.
Trick to remember it
The CAUSATIVE FORMULA: HAVE/GET + OBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE. To identify it: the past participle ALWAYS comes AFTER the object. "I had [my car] [repaired]" = object + past participle. If the participle were before the object, it would be something different. Substitution trick: replace with "I arranged for someone to [verb] my [object]". "I had my car repaired" -> "I arranged for someone to repair my car" = makes sense = it is causative. "I got my report done" -> "I arranged for someone to do my report" OR "I myself finished my report" — both possible, context clarifies.
Quick rule
Have/get + object + past participle = causative (a third party does it for you). Have something done = more formal. Get something done = more informal. Past participle ALWAYS comes after the object.
Did you know?
The causative structure in English with HAVE/GET + object + past participle is grammatically elegant because it resolves in three words what other languages require entire clauses for: "I had my car repaired" = a compact way of saying I arranged for it to be repaired. In formal business English, HAVE SOMETHING DONE is an extremely common structure for describing delegation decisions: "We had the audit conducted by an external firm" = we hired external auditors. The structure implies both the decision to delegate and the outcome, in a single compact construction.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Before the product launch, the company decided to _____ the website _____ by a professional UX consultancy.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"Did you _____ the contract _____ by a lawyer before signing?" — "No, I signed it directly — I should have been more careful."
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Have/get + object + past participle = causative (a third party does it for you). Have something done = more formal. Get something done = more informal. Past participle ALWAYS comes after the object.
Most common errors: (1) Using infinitive instead of past participle: "I had my hair cut" = CORRECT. "I had my hair cutting" = INCORRECT. "I had my hair to cut" = INCORRECT. The causative structure requires PAST PARTICIPLE (cut, repaired, cleaned, translated). (2) Not distinguishing causative from simple HAVE: "I had lunch" (simple, I ate lunch) vs "I had lunch prepared" (causative, someone prepared lunch for me). The position of the past participle after the object identifies the causative. (3) "Get something done" vs "get to do something": "I got to present" = I had the opportunity to present (GET TO + infinitive = opportunity). "I got the presentation done" = I completed/had the presentation done.
The CAUSATIVE FORMULA: HAVE/GET + OBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE. To identify it: the past participle ALWAYS comes AFTER the object. "I had [my car] [repaired]" = object + past participle. If the participle were before the object, it would be something different. Substitution trick: replace with "I arranged for someone to [verb] my [object]". "I had my car repaired" -> "I arranged for someone to repair my car" = makes sense = it is causative. "I got my report done" -> "I arranged for someone to do my report" OR "I myself finished my report" — both possible, context clarifies.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy