Causative passives
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This document discusses causative passives in English. It provides examples of sentences using active causatives and their equivalent passive causatives, such as "I had the dentist pull my tooth" and "I had my tooth pulled." It explains that causative passives using "have" or "get" indicate that the subject caused the action without directly performing it. Care must be taken with causative passives as they can be confused with the past perfect tense. The document also notes that causative passives are used when the active agent is obvious, unimportant, or something the speaker does not want to specify.
Causative passives
- 2. Causatives in the active voice:
- 3. The bad weather caused him to have an accident. = The bad weather make him have an accident.
- 4. When I was a teenager, my parents didn’t allow me to smoke. = When I was a teenager, my parents didn’t let me smoke.
- 5. I asked him to get me some coffee = I had him get me some coffee.
- 6. “help” can take either the base form or the infinitive— both are correct: My friend helped me move last weekend. My friend helped me to move last weekend.
- 7. (active) I had the dentist pull my tooth. I had the tooth pulled.
- 8. I took the computer to the repair shop, and paid them to fix it I had my computer repaired.
- 9. I paid somebody to prepare my taxes for me I had my taxes prepared.
- 10. I went to the hairdresser and paid them to cut my hair I had my hair cut.
- 11. When you use “have” causative, you can also use “get”: I got the tooth pulled. I got my computer prepared. I got my taxes prepared. I got my hair got.
- 12. I got the tooth pulled. I got my computer prepared. I got my taxes prepared. I got my hair got. In these sentences, “got” is more informal than “have.”
- 13. BE CAREFUL! The causative passive with “had” looks a lot like the past perfect, which has a different meaning!
- 14. I had my hair cut = I paid somebody else to cut it. The hairdresser had already cut my hair when I changed my mind about the style I wanted. (Active voice, past perfect = The hairdresser cut my hair, and then I changed my mind.)
- 15. I had my hair cut. had + noun + past participle The hairdresser had cut my hair had + past participle + noun
- 16. Causative passive or past perfect? I had sold my car before I moved here. I had my car sold . (I asked or paid another person to sell my car for me.)
- 17. I had my car sold by my sister. (I asked my sister to sell my car for me.)
- 18. It is possible to have a past perfect and an causative passive in the same sentence! I had just had my car fixed when I had the accident. (I had my car fixed, and a short time after that, I had the accident.)
- 19. • When do we choose to use a causative passive? It’s the same reasons for using any passives—the active agent is obvious unimportant something I don’t want to tell you
- 20. I had my car fixed. (Who fixed my car? A mechanic, obviously.)
- 21. With a passive causative, this is the most likely reason.
- 22. The Obama administration had a website designed. (Who actually designed it? I’m telling you.)
- 23. The Obama administration had a website designed. (Who actually designed it? I’m telling you.)
- 24. We use a passive either because we don’t know or because everybody knows so we don’t have to say who did it.