Causative passives

1. Causative Passive

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.