Have and get something done: who did the work? Have something done exercises for B2 students
About this lesson
This B2 drill lesson gives have something done exercises for jobs that someone else does: have or get + the thing + past participle, in every tense.
- Grammar
- Have / get + object + past participle (I had my car washed.), negatives and questions with do and did, have something stolen for bad luck, and have someone do / get someone to do.
- Topic
- An invented renovation blog about a 1908 farmhouse: what the owners did themselves, what they paid others to do, and what thieves took.
- Activities
- Matching, sorting, choices, gap-fills, a table of tenses, word order, find-the-mistake quizzes, drag-and-drop texts, a chat with a friend and a final test.
What's inside
Chapter 1The rule
- PictureUnlock
- Study the scheme: have something doneGrammar schemeTry it
- Is the sentence correct? Mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Sort the sentences: who did the job?Sort into columnsTry it
- Choose the right formChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: write the past participleFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 2Not me: someone else did it
- Match the problems and the solutionsMatchTry it
- Choose the right words: did they do it themselves?Choose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: someone else does the jobFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: someone did it for meUnjumbleUnlock
- Read Fergus's to-do list and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right words: who did it?QuizUnlock
Chapter 3Then, now and next: the tense is in have
- Choose the right tense: the time words decideChoose the optionTry it
- Fill in the table: one form in every tenseFill in the tableUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: the time words decide the tenseFill in the gapsUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: questions and negativesFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: questions and negativesUnjumbleUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right words: every tenseQuizUnlock
- Read Aurelio's post and fill in the gaps: who did the work, and when?Fill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 4Bad luck and helping hands
- Sort the sentences: a service or bad luck?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Choose the right words: what happened to them?Choose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: what bad luck did they have?Fill in the gapsTry it
- Choose the right words: have someone do, get someone to doChoose the optionUnlock
- Match the sentences with the same meaningMatchUnlock
- Read Bartek's post and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the right sentence for the situationQuizUnlock
Chapter 5Real life: the old farmhouse
- Read the renovation blogReal-life documentUnlock
- Read the post again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
- Read Linus's post from September and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read Greer's email to Bertil and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read Bertil's reply and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Choose the right replies: Zelda texts youChatTry it
- Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Choose the right form: everyday servicesChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with the right form: services in townFill in the gapsUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: the right tense of haveFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: servicesUnjumbleUnlock
- Fill in the table: say it with have or getFill in the tableUnlock
- Match the problems and what people sayMatchUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: verb and past participleMemory gameUnlock
- Unscramble the past participlesAnagramUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right words: everyday EnglishQuizUnlock
- Sort the sentences: correct or wrong?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
- Choose the right words: bad luck or a favor?Choose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: who did they ask?Fill in the gapsUnlock
- Read Ysolde's email and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read Quentin's review and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
Grammar: have and get something done
When someone else does a job for us, English puts the thing between have or get and a past participle: I had my car washed. Get is the more informal of the two. Learners keep the object before the participle, carry the tense in have or get, and use the same form for bad luck.
Have and get something done: who did the work?
When someone else does a job for you, use have or get + the thing + past participle. have and get mean the same here; get is more informal.
Who did the work?
I fixed my bike means I did it; I had my bike fixed means a mechanic did. The pattern is have or get + the thing + past participle: We get our groceries delivered on Fridays.
Someone does it for you
have / getthe thing (object)past participle
I had my car washed. (Someone washed it for me.)
We get our groceries delivered on Fridays.
She's having a new kitchen built.
Who did the work?
I did it myself
- I fixed my bike.
- We painted the kitchen.
- She cuts her own hair.
Someone did it for me
- I had my bike fixed. (A mechanic fixed it.)
- We had the kitchen painted. (We paid a painter.)
- She gets her hair cut at a salon.
The tense is in have or get
Only have or get changes; the participle stays the same in every tense: I have my car serviced every year, I'm having my hair cut tomorrow, They had had the locks changed. In the US, the present perfect of get is have gotten.
| Tense | Example | Time words |
|---|---|---|
| present simple | I have my car serviced every year. | every…, once a year, usually |
| past simple | We had the floors sanded last week. | yesterday, last…, ago |
| present perfect | We've just had the windows cleaned. · She's gotten her bike fixed. (US: gotten) | just, already, yet, since, ever |
| present continuous: now | They're having the house painted at the moment. | now, right now, at the moment |
| present continuous: a plan | I'm having my hair cut tomorrow. | tomorrow, next… (it's booked) |
| be going to | We're going to have a porch built. | a plan |
| will | My phone's broken! I'll get it fixed today. | a decision now |
| past continuous | We were having the fence painted when it started to rain. | when…, at this time yesterday |
| past perfect | They had had the locks changed before they moved in. | before, by the time |
| modal verbs | You should have that tooth checked. · I need to get my passport renewed. | should, need to, can |
Negatives and questions
Negatives and questions use do, does and did, as with any main verb: Did you have the oil changed? We didn't have the kitchen painted. After did, have keeps its base form, so never Did you had…?
| Form | with have | with get |
|---|---|---|
| negative | We didn't have the kitchen painted: we did it ourselves. | I haven't gotten my bike fixed yet. |
| yes/no question | Did you have the oil changed? | Are you getting the floors sanded? |
| wh- question | How often do you have your windows cleaned? | Where do you get your shoes repaired? |
| present perfect question | Have you had your eyes tested recently? | Have you gotten the heat fixed yet? |
Bad luck: had my phone stolen
The same form tells of something nobody asked for: I had my phone stolen on the subway. He had his flight canceled because of the snow. The subject is the person it happened to, so I was stolen my phone is wrong.
Bad luck: have something stolen
The same form can tell us about something bad that happened to us: nobody asked for it! I had my phone stolen on the subway. (Someone stole it.) We had our tent blown away by the wind. He had his flight canceled because of the snow.
Have someone do, get someone to do
To name the worker, use have + person + verb or get + person + to + verb: I had the mechanic check the brakes. I got my sister to help me. By can name who did it: We had the house painted by a local company.
Have someone do · get someone to do
To name the person who does the job: have + person + verb (no to), get + person + to + verb. I had the mechanic check the brakes. I got my sister to help me. Not: I had the mechanic to check. Not: I got my sister help. You can also use by: We had the house painted by a local company.
Common mistakes
I had cut my hair at the salon puts the participle too early: say I had my hair cut. We had the walls paint needs painted. If you did it yourself, drop have: I cut my hair myself.
I had cut my hair at the salon.
I had my hair cut at the salon.
the thing goes before the past participle
I'm going to have repaired my car tomorrow.
I'm going to have my car repaired tomorrow.
have + the thing + past participle
We had the walls paint last month.
We had the walls painted last month.
past participle, not the base form
I had my hair cut by myself.
I cut my hair myself.
you did it yourself → no have
Examples
- I had my bike repaired at the shop on the corner.a mechanic repaired it
- We're having new windows put in next week.a plan: it's booked
- You should get that cough checked by a doctor.advice
- How much did it cost to get your watch fixed?a question with get
- She had her suitcase stolen at the airport.bad luck, not a service
- I got my neighbor to water the plants.get + person + to + verb
More lessons on this grammar: Passive voice lessons and exercises
Try the have something done exercises
Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.
What's in the lesson
- 40 auto-checked exercises
- 5 games
- 1 real-life document
- 1 grammar scheme
- 1 picture
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- say whether you did a job yourself or paid someone: I know nothing about cars, so I had the brakes checked at a garage.
- put have or get in the tense the time words need: We have had the windows cleaned three times since we moved in.
- ask and answer with do and did: Where do you get your suits made these days? We didn't have the curtains made.
- tell a story of bad luck: I had my scooter stolen from outside the library.
- name the person who does the job: I had the mechanic look at the tires. We got our neighbor to feed the cat.
Have and get something done: who did the work? is lesson 12 of English Grammar Practice · B2, and the passive voice page lists it. Before it comes lesson 11, Impersonal passive: it is said that…, she is said to…; after it, lesson 13, Non-defining relative clauses: the extra information. Since it teaches no new words, the farmhouse lesson adds focused practice to any course.
The rule chapter follows the scheme with a true or false check, a sort by who did the job, a choice of forms and a gap-fill of participles. “Not me: someone else did it” matches problems with solutions, tells doing it yourself from paying for it and fills in Fergus's to-do list before a road trip. “Then, now and next” moves have through every tense, with a table, questions, negatives and Aurelio's post about his grandpa's 1968 convertible. “Bad luck and helping hands” covers had my wallet stolen, get someone to do and Bartek's terrible week. Real life is Greer's blog about the old farmhouse, Linus's floor disaster, an email to the window restorer and his reply, Zelda's chat and a 12-question test.
The 15 homework tasks check themselves: services in town, the right tense of have, word order, a table with have or get, a match, a memory game and an anagram of participles, two quizzes, a correct-or-wrong sort, bad luck or a favor, who they asked, Ysolde's email from Edinburgh and Quentin's review of a bike repair shop.
- Grammar:
- have something done · get something done · causative · have something stolen · have someone do / get someone to do
- Topic:
- grammar practice · services · home renovation · everyday life
Teaching tips
- Ask “Who did the work?” after every sentence on the board: I painted the kitchen (me) against I had the kitchen painted (a painter). Students then name three jobs they do themselves and three they pay for.
- Build a list of local services, such as hair, nails, car, phone screen and dry cleaning. Students ask each other Where do you get your hair cut? and How often do you have your car serviced?
- Keep bad luck in its own column: I had my wallet stolen is not a service. Students sort the lesson's sentences into asked for and not asked for before the bad-luck drills in chapter 4.
- Turn the farmhouse blog into a timeline: students put each job from May to next spring in order and say who did it, Greer and Linus or someone they paid.
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The whole course: English Grammar Practice · B2
English Grammar Practice · B2 has 24 drill lessons, one grammar point each: the future perfect and continuous, the third and mixed conditionals, wishes, past modals, the impersonal passive, have something done, participle clauses, reporting verbs and verb patterns. Each has the rule as a scheme, 43 to 47 exercises that check themselves, 15 of them for homework, and no new words.See the course
- 1Future continuous and future perfect: countdown to launch
- 2Future in the past: it was going to be perfect
- 3Past perfect continuous: what had been going on?
- 4Third conditional: if I hadn't missed that train…
- 5Mixed conditionals: where would you be now?
- 6Unless, in case and as long as: on one condition
- 7Wish and if only: is it too late?
- 8Would rather, had better and it's time: the couch crisis
- 9Past modals of deduction: what must have happened here?
- 10Should have and needn't have: what went wrong?
- 11Impersonal passive: it is said that…, she is said to…
- 12Have and get something done: who did the work?
- 13Non-defining relative clauses: the extra information
- 14Participle clauses: having planned everything
- 15Reporting verbs: what did they really say?
- 16Verbs + -ing or to: stop doing or stop to do?
- 17Make, let, allow and get: who makes the rules?
- 18Dependent prepositions: depend on, interested in, a reason for
- 19So do I and neither do I: agree, disagree and insist
- 20Articles with general ideas: life or the life?
- 21As, like and as if: interview like a pro
- 22Negative and echo questions: didn't you know?
- 23To, in order to and so that: what's it for?
- 24No use, no point and worth + -ing: what's worth your time?