The causative — have/get something done · A causativa — have/get something done
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.
Fazer coisas por meio de terceiros
- O causative diz que outra pessoa faz um trabalho por você.
- I had my hair cut. (um cabeleireiro cortou, não eu)
- É diferente de fazer sozinho.
I had my hair cut; o cabeleireiro cuidou da 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 + particípio passado.
- I had my hair cut. Estamos having our house painted.
- O "be" de having it done pode estar em qualquer tempo verbal.
Choose the causative (someone else does it): · Escolha a causativa (alguém faz):
Causative = have + object + past participle: “had my hair cut”. · Causativa = have + objeto + particípio passado: “had my hair cut”.
Complete: We are having our house ___ (paint). · Complete: We are having our house ___ (pintar).
have + object + past participle: paint → painted. · have + objeto + particípio passado: paint → painted.
Translate into English: 我昨天(请人)剪了头发。 · Traduza para o inglês: 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.” (alguém cortou para mim)
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 + particípio passado — o mesmo significado, mais informal.
- Preciso de get my phone fixed. Ela got her photo taken.
- have e get são geralmente intercambiáveis aqui.
Who actually did it? · Quem realmente fez?
have/get something done = you arranged it, someone else did it; plain verb = you did it yourself. · have/get something done = você organizou, outra pessoa fez; verbo simples = você fez sozinho.
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!
A ordem das palavras importa
- Mantenha a ordem: have/get + a coisa + particípio passado.
- I had my car repaired. (alguém consertou para mim)
- I repaired my car. (eu fiz sozinho) — significado diferente!
Does “I had my car repaired” mean someone else repaired it for me? · “I had my car repaired” significa que outra pessoa o reparou para mim?
Yes — the causative means you arranged for someone else to do it. · Sim — a causativa significa que você organizou para outra pessoa fazer.
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.
Erros comuns
- ❌ I cut my hair yesterday. (num salão) → ✓ I had my hair cut. — a ativa significa que você fez sozinho.
- Ordem das palavras: have + thing + participle — had my hair cut, nunca had cut my hair (isso é past perfect).
- Com pessoas: have + pessoa + verbo na forma base; get + pessoa + to + verbo.
Who did it? Match each sentence. · Quem fez? Combine cada frase.
Active = you did it; have/get something done = a service; get + person + to = you persuaded them. · Ativo = você fez; have/get something done = um serviço; get + pessoa + to = você os persuadiu.
Complete: We are having our house ___ . (paint) · Complete: We are having our house ___ . (pintar)
have + thing + past participle: having our house painted. · have + coisa + particípio passado: 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.
- Causative = have / get + objeto + particípio passado.
- Significa que outra pessoa faz o trabalho por você.
- Observe a ordem das palavras; get é a versão informal de have.
Write one sentence about something you had (or get) done by someone else, using the causative (have/get + something + past participle). · Escreva uma frase sobre algo que você teve (ou get) feito por outra pessoa, usando a causativa (have/get + algo + particípio passado).
Example: “I need to get my computer fixed.” · Exemplo: “I need to get my computer fixed.”