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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Break down or broken down?

Which one is correct: "I had my car break down" or "I had my car broken down"?

If both of them are correct, what is the difference between their meanings? I see both of them on internet. I know that "He had/got his leg broken" is correct instead of "He had/got his leg break" but I cannot make sure about my sentence as I see both of them on internet.

Thank you.
  

Top answer

Anonymous Which one is correct: or "I had my car broken down"? "I had my car break down"

— Mister Micawber

  • Anonymous Which one is correct: or "I had my car broken down"?
  • "I had my car break down"
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6 Answers
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AnonymousWhich one is correct: or "I had my car broken down"?
"I had my car break down"
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Thank you. But I am confused, if "He had his leg broken" is correct, why is "I had my car break down" the correct one?
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"He had his leg break" is grammatically possible. It's just an unusual way to say it. I would say "He broke his leg," or "His leg was broken."
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I see. "I had my car break down" is usual to say, but also "He had his leg broken" is usual too. Thank you.
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I am sorry. I can't see it in the same light. " I had my car break down ( on the freeway) " is not idiomatically common and natural to my ear. If my car had problems with transmission, or engine over heated. I would just say " my car broke down on the freeway with engine problem". The causative construction usage is awkward to me. Same issue with " he had his leg broken". This sentence offers t
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Anonymous The causative construction usage is awkward to me. Same issue with " he had his leg broken". This sentence offers the impression that he intentionally had his leg broken
I understand your problem with this, and I'm not particularly fond of it either. Still, I think it is quite common to use this "faux-causative" in informal situations. I had my
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