infinitives - Why do 'get' and 'have' work similarly in 'get/have sth done" but differently in 'get sb to do sth' and 'have sb do sth'


Why do 'get' and 'have' work similarly in



I got/had my car repaired.



but differently – that is are not complemented in the same way although they still mean the same – in



I got someone to repair my car.



and



I had someone repair my car.




Answer



The verbs 'get' and 'have' are not completed in the same way, whether in an active sentence or in a passive one: it only looks as if they work the same way in a passive phrase like 'get/have something done', only looks.


Get:



  • I got someone to repair my car. (active phrase)

  • *I got my car to be repaired by someone. (passive phrase)

  • I got my car repaired. (simplified passive phrase, 'to be' dropped)


Have:



  • I had someone repair my car. (active phrase)

  • *I had my car be repaired by someone. (passive phrase)

  • I had my car repaired. (simplified passive phrase, 'be' dropped)


So it is only the simplified sentences which give the – mistaken – impression that 'get' and 'have' work the same way. Of course, the middle sentence in each case, even if it can be re-constructed, is not used.


Simplifications 'complicate' the task of learners of English, because they make it look as if something one has just learnt does not apply – here, 'get sb to do sth' but 'have sb do sth'- as if English were an endless list of exceptions rather than a language obeying a large but limited set of rules one can hope to learn!


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