Something have done — Explanation

Find out how to say "have something done" in English. B1 intermediate grammar explanation and exercises to help you learn this causative structure.

Something have done

When someone else does something for us, we say "have something done." It's very common for us to pay someone else to do something or set it up for them.

Form:

have + object + past participle

Examples:

• I had my hair cut yesterday. → (The hairdresser cut it, not me.)
• We are having the house painted next week. → (Someone else is painting it.)
• She will have her laptop repaired tomorrow. → (A technician will fix it.)

Meanings and Uses

1. Services or work we arrange
   → We use it when someone provides a service for us.
   • I had my car washed this morning.
   • He had his suit made in Italy.
2. Negative experiences
   → It can also describe something unpleasant that happens to us (without our control).
   • They had their bikes stolen last week.
   • She had her wallet taken in the metro.
3. Different tenses
   → You can use have something done in any tense:
   • Present: I have my nails done every month.
   • Past: We had the roof repaired last year.
   • Future: I will have my car serviced tomorrow.
   • Continuous: They are having their house painted right now.

Get something done

We can also use "get" instead of "have," especially in casual English.

• I’m going to get my hair cut. (= have my hair cut)
• We got the windows cleaned yesterday.

Have someone do something

This is how we talk about who does the work:
have + person + base verb

• I had the mechanic check my brakes.
• We had John fix the computer.

Summary Table

Meaning	Structure	Example
Someone else does something for us	have + object + past participle	I had my car repaired.
Informal version	get + object + past participle	I got my car repaired.
We say who did it	have + person + base verb	I had the plumber fix the tap.
Negative experience	have + object + past participle	She had her bag stolen.