3月23日号：The causative (part 1)

The causative is used when we are talking about something that somebody else does for us. We don’t do the action ourselves. Instead, we arrange for another person to do it for us.

Today, we’ll look at the basic structure of the causative.

The basic structure for the causative is:

have + object + past participle.

We usually use this structure when we arrange for a professional to do the action for us. For example, compare the following sentences:

◆ I had my computer repaired. (= I arranged for a repairperson to repair my computer)

◆ I repaired my computer (= I repaired it myself)

◆ We are having our kitchen painted. (= We are arranging for a painter to paint our kitchen)

◆ We are painting our kitchen. (= We are painting it ourselves)

◆ He wants to have his dog’s nails trimmed. (= He wants to arrange for a dog groomer to trim his dog’s nails)

◆ He wants to trim his dog’s nails. (= He wants to trim them himself)

Because we understand from context that the person who does the action is a professional, we usually don’t need to mention the person directly. However, in case we do want to mention the person ? perhaps because the person is not a professional ? we can use “by + person.” For example:

◆ I had my house designed by a famous architect.

◆ She had her hair cut by a friend.

We can also use the basic causative structure to talk about something bad or unpleasant that happened to someone.

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Ian先生プロフィール

英会話イーオン東京本社教務課コーディネーター。イーオン教師のトレーニングや英語セミナーを企画制作するカリスマ教師として活躍中。カリフォルニア大学バークレー校卒業。趣味は読書、料理、クラフトワーク。