English grammar - causative have

http://www.eslbase.com/grammar/causative

Form
have + object + verb 3 past participle - have something done
have + object + infinitive - have someone do something

Meaning
1. We use causative when arranging for someone to do something for us.
o They had their car repaired.
They arranged for someone to repair it
o They repaired their car.
They did it themselves
o I had my hair cut yesterday.
I went to the hairdresser
o I cut my hair yesterday.
I cut it myself
2. We use causative when someone does something to us.
o Bill had his money stolen.
Somebody stole his money.
3. We can use have someone do something to talk about giving instructions or orders (more
common in American English). 21-.8517
o I had my assistant type the report.
o I'll have my lawyer look into it.

Additional points
1. Get is possible instead of have, usually in informal spoken English.
o I'm going to get my car fixed tomorrow.

Ideas for teaching causative

How do you teach causative? Add your idea
I ask students to imagine they were rich and could have all sorts of things
done for them, annoying everyday chores that nobody likes doing plus
some luxury pampering that money allows for.
I give a few examples of my own:
I'd have my nails done once a week.

I'd have my garden weeded and my lawn mowed.

I'd have my bedroom redecorated in beautiful oriental sumptuous colours and
fabrics.
I'd have the evening meal cooked by a professional cook.
I'd have my shopping done and the house cleaned from top to bottom every
two days.
This would leave me time to do the things I enjoy, like reading, chatting to
friends, going for walks and playing tennis.
Delia
I give each student a drawing of a town, with lots of different businesses. I first
elicit what each business does (i.e. in the hair salon they cut your hair, at the
mechanic they fix your car... etc) to check vocabulary. Then I introduce the
grammar and ask what you can have done in each - in the hair salon I can have
my hair cut, at the mechanic I can have my car fixed, etc.
Timita
I write the following sentence on the board: I have my hair cut every week.
1. Elicit the FORM from the students (have/has + noun + past participle)
2. Use the following concept questions to elicit YES or NO:
Do I cut my hair? Ss: NO
Does somebody else cut my hair? Ss: YES
Do I pay money? Ss: YES
3. If you cut your hair yourselves, how would you say that? I elicit: I cut my hair.
4. Elicit that every week expresses "a habit", and have is in the present simple
tense.
5. Write the following on the board: house/clean and elicit I have my house
cleaned.
Of course I repeat the concept questions to make sure that my students grasp
the new structure, and I have them drill it (whole class/individuals).
6. Written practice. Houcine
In a previous class I ask my students to tell me about the services they need
and the establishments that are near their homes or the ones they usually go
to. According to the information they give, I elicit the services and I write on the
board some examples like
My computer is not working, I need to get it fixed.
GOOOD!!! I ask my students to go out of my classroom with me and pretend
that they are school inspectors. The students are asked to mention all the
problems they see in the school. They find out problems in teams like:
The pool is dirty, the steps are chipped, the handrail is scratched.
When we go back to the classroom, they must give a solution to all the
problems they saw or identified. We all check the answers and correct them as a
group. As a follow-up activity, I ask them to check the problems they see in their
house and give solutions for homework.
I hope you like this idea. This is a real effective communicative activity.
Prof. German Albavera
Family - friends and favours.
Students work on the importance of working as a team inside the family so the
house and errands are done on time. They comment about how friends help

each other in good and bad moments. They make posters with lists of things the
get/have done by others. They choose which favour was the most memorable.
Diana
Question:
"3 people have had money stolen from their offices"
This looks like causative but uses "have" + "had". Anybody know how to teach
this use?
Al
Al - this is causative in the present perfect. I'd suggest teaching it in conjunction
with "Have you ever..." type questions.
Anonymous
I usually ask my students to think about the things they don't like or don't know
how to do by themselves. Then I ask them how they manage to get them done, I
repeat some of the first answers with the causative form. Then the rest of the
students are asked to model according to the new type of sentences I have
introduced.
Luz
I ask the class who is scared of going to the dentists. Then I tell them all the
work I had done when I was young (6 teeth out, a brace for 2 years, now I'm
having my wisdom teeth out) and put them in pairs to tell their partners how
much dental work they've had done (extra vocab too).
Then you can elicit a few modal sentences from one of the students, put it on
the board and clarify the form and meaning.
In changing it into the active it can be quite funny, as you can't really take our
own wisdom teeth out. You can even bring in some gory pictures! :)
Poppy
I use pictures of a dress, hair, a car and a house and ask how these things are
made: are they made by our hands or other people's hands? I elicit answers
from the students and present the rule to them after writing 3 or 4 examples on
the board. I give extra examples focusing on the tense of each sentence
(present - past).
Monymero
I put on the board pictures showing a.)broken down car b.)mechanic repairing
it. Then I say: I had a problem with my car and took it to the mechanic and write
on the board:
"I had my car fixed". Then ask: a.)did I fix it? Students answer "No" b.)did the
mechanic fix it? Students answer "yes" c.)did I pay for it? They answer "yes".
Finally I write on the board the form of causative.
Anonymous
I ask students to imagine that they are rich and can have all sorts of things done
for them. I give a few examples of my own: I'd have my shopping done and
house cleaned! (this could also be combined with 2nd conditional)
Abdurahiman
I show ss pictures of someone having their hair cut or getting a sink repaired,
etc.. I model 3 examples, then I elicit, using other visuals as a cue. Then I write
on the board one example with "have" someone do the job, and one with "get"
someone to do the job. Have ss analyze the difference, then have a questionanswer drill.
Kristen