cut her hair

Question

Hello.Do these sentences mean the same thing? If not, what's the difference?She cut her hair.She cut herself her hair.She got her hair cut.

Simplicitie · Accepted Answer

I am not sure the second sentence, "She cut herself her hair." makes any sense, but the other two sentences mean basically the same thing. Preferrably, the first is better though.

Best Wishes,

~Simplicitie

Sam C · Answer

(1) She cut her hair.

if 'she' and 'her' both refer to Jane, then Jane cut her own hair, end of story. otherwise, Jane ('she') cut Mary's (her) hair. as a stand-alone sentence, it could equally mean either.

(2) She cut herself her hair.

on first reading i found this odd, but i think it's possible. if Jane wanted a lock of hair for herself, she might cut off some of her own. similarly, if i wanted to have my slice of cake, i might 'cut myself my slice (of cake)'.

(3) She got her hair cut.

her hair was cut, but who it was that cut it is either unknown or immaterial.

sam, could do with a trim myself

Khoff · Answer

Sam - I like your interpretation of "she cut herself her hair" as similar to "I cut myself a piece of cake," but I think it's more likely that the original poster intended it to mean "She cut her hair herself." Here's how I would interpret them:

"She got her hair cut" means that she went to a hair salon and paid someone to cut her hair (or maybe her mother did it in the kitchen for free - the important point is that someone else cut her hair.) You could also say "She had her hair cut."

"She cut her hair herself" means that she cut her own hair.

"She cut her hair" literally means, as Sam says, either that she cut her own hair, or that she cut the hair of some other female. Conversationally, however, I think many people would say "she cut her hair" to mean exactly the same as "she had (or got) her hair cut" -- that is, that someone else cut her hair at her request. ("Have you seen Jane? She cut her hair." "Yes, it's really cute.")

Kyawphonehlaing · Answer

Hello Latin !

Have you ever seen anybody cut his or her hair ? Definitely not, I think. Therefore, sentences "She cut her hair" and "She cut herself her hair" can be correct grammatically, but not semantically. They are meaningless.

"She got her hair cut" means "She told someone to cut her hair".

Here, "got (get)" is used as a causative verb."Get" means "persuade". Active form is : Subject + get + object(actor) + to verb infinitive + object(receiver)...

eg. 1 Michael persuaded his friends to copy the notes.

Michael got his friends to copy the notes.

However, when the object(actor) is obvious or not important, we normally use passive form: Subject + get + object(receiver) + verb(past participle) + ( by object-actor)....

eg. 1 Michael persuaded a boy to wash the car.

Michael got the car washed.

Well, when we want someone to cut our hair we ask or employ or pay him to cut our hair. We rarely persuade him to cut our hair. That's why, we should use the causative verb "have" instead of "get". ( The causative have means ask,employ or pay.)

Its pattern is: Subject + have + object(actor) + verb infinitive + object(receiver)...

Subject + have + object(receiver) + verb-past participle + ....

eg. 1 I asked a barber to cut my hair.

I had my hair cut.

2 He has employed the workers to paint the house.

He has had the workers paint the house. (or) He has had the house painted.

That's why, if I were you, I would say "She had her hair cut."

Pieanne · Answer

KyawphonehlaingHave you ever seen anybody cut his or her hair ? Definitely not, I think.

I do...

cut her hair

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions