This document discusses causative passives in English. It provides examples of sentences using active causatives and their equivalent passive causatives, such as "I had the dentist pull my tooth" and "I had my tooth pulled." It explains that causative passives using "have" or "get" indicate that the subject caused the action without directly performing it. Care must be taken with causative passives as they can be confused with the past perfect tense. The document also notes that causative passives are used when the active agent is obvious, unimportant, or something the speaker does not want to specify.

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.