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Latest post Sun, Jul 20 2008 1:20 PM by Anonymous. 3 replies.
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senthilvelann  +  104501 Wed, 01 Jun 05 05:26 AM
Dear Teachers,

Please explain me the above construction with examples.


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Joined on Fri, Mar 25 2005
Full Member 107
Miche  +  104613 Wed, 01 Jun 05 02:52 PM
Hi, senthilvelann,

I think you are asking about a structure similar to "to have something done", which is quite common. I'm not sure the following examples with "have" work with "get" but some of them may work.

to have one's hair cut - to go to the hairdresser, who cuts your hair; compare: to cut one's hair - to cut it yourself
to have the house cleaned - to find somebody to clean the house; compare: to clean the house yourself

To my EFS ear, "to get one's hair cut" and "to get one's house cleaned" is more likely to appear in the imperative:

(Mother to a teenage son): You really must get your hair cut - it looks terrible!
(Boss to employee): The office is a mess! Get it cleaned! (I don't care who cleans it, I just want it cleaned!)

Other such phrases could be: have/get the work done, the article edited, the garbage disposed of etc.
Joined on Fri, Jan 7 2005
Full Member 258
There's always sunshine after rain
paco2004  +  105088 Thu, 02 Jun 05 10:30 PM
Hello Senthilvelann

Maybe you know I'm an English learner from Japan. I too have troubles in understanding the constructs of "get O done".

Most grammar books say "get O done" and "have O done" are almost the same in the meaning and the difference is the level of formality.

[causative/benefit/intentional]
She had her hair cut yesterday / She got her hair cut yesterday.
[contra-causative/damage/unintentional]
I had my pocket picked in the crowd/ I got my pocket picked in the crowd.
[levels of formality]
You are required to have your car repaired / I'm gonna get my car repaired.
[imperative]
Get your license renewed / (?) Have your license renewed

However, some grammarians say that, in regards to the passive/damage usages, there are subtle differences in the subject's responsibility between the two expressions. For example, Bailey discussed the difference taking sentences "He had his benefits cut off" and "He got his benefits cut off" as the samples. According to her, the former is to be used when "he" didn't know the cause why his benefits were cut off, and in the case "he" knew the cause the latter is a better expression.

paco
Joined on Wed, Nov 17 2004
Senior Member 4,095
In Japan today even dogs are learning how to bow-wow in English.
Anonymous, 1 yr 125 days ago
Please explain the past participle form in easy to understand English
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