The causative — have/get something done · La causativa — hacer que algo se haga / conseguir que algo se haga
Getting things done by others
- The causative says someone else does a job for you.
- I had my hair cut. (a hairdresser cut it, not me)
- It's different from doing it yourself.
I had my hair cut; the hairdresser handled the difficult part.
Hacer que otros hagan las cosas
- La causativa indica que alguien más realiza un trabajo por ti.
- I had my hair cut. (un peluquero lo cortó, no yo).
- Es diferente a hacerlo tú mismo.
I had my hair cut; el peluquero se encargó de la parte difícil.
have something done
- have + object + past participle.
- I had my hair cut. We are having our house painted.
- The "be" of having it done can be in any tense.
have something done
- have + objeto + participio pasado.
- I had my hair cut. We are having our house painted.
- El verbo "be" en la estructura causativa puede estar en cualquier tiempo verbal.
Choose the causative (someone else does it): · Elija la causativa (alguien más lo hace):
Causative = have + object + past participle: “had my hair cut”. · Causativa = have + objeto + participio pasado: “had my hair cut”.
Complete: We are having our house ___ (paint).
have + object + past participle: paint → painted. · have + objeto + participio pasado: paint → painted.
Translate into English: 我昨天(请人)剪了头发。 · Traduzca al inglés: 我昨天(请人)剪了头发。
Causative: “I had my hair cut yesterday.” (someone cut it for me) · Causativa: “I had my hair cut yesterday.” (alguien lo cortó para mí)
get something done (informal)
- get + object + past participle — the same meaning, more casual.
- I need to get my phone fixed. She got her photo taken.
- have and get are usually interchangeable here.
get something done (informal)
- get + objeto + participio pasado — mismo significado, más coloquial.
- I need to get my phone fixed. She got her photo taken.
- Have y get suelen ser intercambiables aquí.
Who actually did it? · ¿Quién lo hizo realmente?
have/get something done = you arranged it, someone else did it; plain verb = you did it yourself. · have/get something done = tú organizaste, otra persona lo hizo; verbo simple = tú lo hiciste tú mismo.
Word order matters
- Keep the order: have/get + the thing + past participle.
- I had my car repaired. (someone repaired it for me)
- I repaired my car. (I did it myself) — a different meaning!
El orden de las palabras importa
- Mantén el orden: have/get + la cosa + participio pasado.
- I had my car repaired. (alguien la reparó para mí).
- I repaired my car. (yo la reparé yo mismo) — ¡significado diferente!
Does “I had my car repaired” mean someone else repaired it for me? · ¿“I had my car repaired” significa que alguien más lo reparó para mí?
Yes — the causative means you arranged for someone else to do it. · Sí — la causativa significa que usted organizó para que otra persona lo hiciera.
Common mistakes
- ❌ I cut my hair yesterday. (at a salon) → ✓ I had my hair cut. — the active means you did it yourself.
- Word order: have + thing + participle — had my hair cut, never had cut my hair (that's past perfect).
- With people: have + person + base verb; get + person + to + verb.
Errores comunes
- ❌ I cut my hair yesterday. (en una peluquería) → ✓ I had my hair cut. — la forma activa significa que lo hiciste tú mismo.
- Orden de las palabras: have + cosa + participio — had my hair cut, nunca had cut my hair (eso es pluscuamperfecto).
- Con personas: have + persona + verbo en infinitivo sin to; get + persona + to + verbo.
Who did it? Match each sentence. · ¿Quién lo hizo? Empareje cada oración.
Active = you did it; have/get something done = a service; get + person + to = you persuaded them. · Activa = usted lo hizo; have/get something done = un servicio; get + persona + to = usted los persuadió.
Complete: We are having our house ___ . (paint)
have + thing + past participle: having our house painted. · have + cosa + participio pasado: having our house painted.
- Causative = have / get + object + past participle.
- It means someone else does the job for you.
- Watch the word order; get is the informal version of have.
- Causativa = have / get + objeto + participio pasado.
- Significa que alguien más hace el trabajo por ti.
- Presta atención al orden de las palabras; get es la versión informal de have.
Write one sentence about something you had (or get) done by someone else, using the causative (have/get + something + past participle). · Escriba una oración sobre algo que haya hecho (o conseguido que se haga) por otra persona, usando la causativa (have/get + algo + participio pasado).
Example: “I need to get my computer fixed.” · Ejemplo: “I need to get my computer fixed.”