get/have sth. P.P.

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meantolearn

#117466 Tue, 12 Jul 05 04:15 AM

get + something + P.P. ; have + something + P.P.

Do 'get sth. + P.P.' and 'have sth. + P.P.' mean the same?

For instance, do 'she got her nose pierced' and 'she had her nose pierced' mean the same? do 'he got his car fixed' and 'he had his car fixed' mean the same?

Do we know who did the piercing when we say she got her nose pierced or she had her nose pierced?

______________

Shouldn't it be much clearer if we say 'she pierced her nose' to mean she did the job by herself or 'she got her nose pierced by someone' to mean someone did the job for her?

Thanks

meantolearn

Joined on Thu, Feb 24 2005

Regular Member (704)

khoff

#117484 Tue, 12 Jul 05 05:05 AM

For instance, do 'she got her nose pierced' and 'she had her nose pierced' mean the same? do 'he got his car fixed' and 'he had his car fixed' mean the same?

I would say that the meaning is exactly the same, but the version with "got" sounds more conversational; "had" a bit more formal. Both mean that she arranged for someone else to pierce her nose/fix her car. (Maybe you get a discount if you have both done at the same time?)

khoff

Joined on Sun, Mar 6 2005

Denver, Colorado, USA, Earth

Senior Member (2,521)

Native speaker of American English (but not a grammar expert)

Mister Micawber

#117501 Tue, 12 Jul 05 06:43 AM

Please do not double-post, Meantolearn-- it wastes valuable time.

Mister Micawber

Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004

Yokohama

Veteran Member (20,419)

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

meantolearn

#117535 Tue, 12 Jul 05 10:05 AM

Hi khoff & Mr.M,

I remember CJ's comments on 'get sth p.p.' one time. He mentioned that when you say, "I got my car fixed." It doesn't 100% to say the car was fixed by someone else. "I got my car fixed" can mean "I fixed my car myself". Correct?

By the same token, "I got my ears pierced" can mean "I pierced my ears myself". Correct? Eventhough, it's very unusual.

Thanks for the replies.

meantolearn

Mister Micawber

#117548 Tue, 12 Jul 05 11:30 AM

That is a different meaning for 'get'. There are two:

I got my car fixed = I employed/asked/etc someone to fix my car.
I got my car fixed = I finished fixing my car.

(By the way, MTL, if you remember Jim's remarks so well, why have you asked this question again?)

Mister Micawber

paco2004

#117745 Tue, 12 Jul 05 08:59 PM

Hello

We had a similar discussion before(click here). Dr Bailey, a linguist, insists some difference in the meaning between "get" and "have". But as far as I studied in google, people seem to use the two collocations differently only to accord to the register (formal or colloquial speech).

paco

paco2004

Joined on Wed, Nov 17 2004

Senior Member (4,095)

In Japan today even dogs are learning how to bow-wow in English.

meantolearn

#117787 Tue, 12 Jul 05 11:22 PM

Hi all,

I think this topic needs a little bit more attention.

get/have sth. p.p.

The pattern above doesn't strongly suggest who did what.

For instance,

"I had/got my washer fixed last week" can mean either 1. I fixed the washer myself or 2. someone else fixed the washer for me.

"I had/got my job done/finished" can mean either 1. I did/finished the job myself or 2. someone else did/finished the job for me.

"I had/got my hair cut" can mean either 1. I cut my hair myself (some people never go to a beauty/barber shop) or 2. someone else cut my hair for me.

"I had/got my room cleaned up" can mean either 1. I cleaned the room myself or 2. someone else cleaned the room for me.

___________________________

But there are some exceptions I assume. we can tell who did what in the following example.

e.g. "I had/got my wallet stolen' -----> Someone stole my wallet.

You might think of other examples. Please share with us.

(By the way, Mr.M., this is an open forum. People ask questions if they want to , rather than, if they need to)

meantolearn

Mister Micawber

#117800 Wed, 13 Jul 05 12:45 AM

Absolutely, MTL-- and people answer questions if they want to, also. Enthusiasm for helping an enquirer who does not seem to get the point after considerable effort wanes.

Mister Micawber

paco2004

#117830 Wed, 13 Jul 05 02:35 AM

S have/get O done

This construction has three usages from semantic viewpoints: [1] causative, [2] suffering and [3] completion.

Causative Sense

The accent comes on "have"/"get"
GET constructs sound stronger than HAVE constructs.
HAVE constructs are preferred in formal/polite speech.
GET constructs are preferred for imperative use.
HAVE constructs are preferred in past tense sentences.
(EX-1) [to oneself] I have to get my hair cut at the barber.
(EX-2) [to one's own son] Get your fingernails cut! (=Clip your fingernails!)
(EX-3) [at a laundry] I'd like to have these things dry cleaned.
(EX-4) [at a store] I'd like to buy this. Could you have it delivered?

Suffering Sense

The accent comes on "done".
GET is more common when S has any responsibility of the suffering.
(EX-5) He got his leg broken while he played rugby. "He broke his leg" is more common.
(EX-6) We had our roof blown off in the gale.
(EX-7) She had a book stolen from the library. "Someone stole a book from the library" is more common in this case. Furthermore, one might take the sentence to mean "She carried a book that had been stolen from the library" or "She made someone steal a book from the library" if the accent comes on "had" instead of "stolen".