Have or get?

Question

Hello,Why can't I use 'had'  'have'   and  'get' interchangeably in these phrases?Bob had/got me drunk.He had/got me stumped.She had/got me stoned.She has/got me spending.She (has) got me spending.The music has (got) me dancing.The music got/has me dancing.What is the exact meaning of each phrase?Thanks

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

"Have" as a causative verb uses this pattern:

I had my hair cut.
Mother had me clean up the room.

(Subject) had (pronoun or noun in object case) (bare infinitive) (optional object).

It means to ask or demand that someone do something.

Get as a causative verb uses an object complement (participle), or an infinitive clause:

Bob got me drunk. (object complement, past participle)
We got the house painted. (object complement, past participle)
The music (has) got me dancing. (object complement, present participle)
Mother got me to clean up my room. (infinitive reduced clause)

It means to persuade or give someone else the responsibility to do something:

Make and let are also common causative verbs.

Mother made me clean up my room. The idea of force.)
Dad let his son drive the car. (The idea of permission)

Here is a tutorial on these verbs: http://www.englishpage.com/minitutorials/let.html

Nina_Nia · Answer

One thing is not clear. How should I choose the right verb? Have or get? Eg, He had me stumped (Could you please reword it?) Is correct while the next two sentences are not.
Bob had me drunk.(persuaded me to drink)
She had me stoned. (I don't know how to rephrase this one too)

Why can't I use 'get' in all of these examples? Get and have are not used interchangeably that's what I find confusing.

CalifJim · Answer

Nina_NiaWhy can't I use 'had' 'have' and 'get' interchangeably in these phrases?

Because they have different meanings. In most of those grammatical structures you're using, 'has' (or 'had') is static; 'got' is dynamic. 'has' describes a current state; 'had' describes a past state; 'got' describes a past action. 'has got' is a variant of 'has'.

Bob had me drunk. - I was 'in Bob's power' in that he had caused me to become drunk.
Bob got me drunk. - Bob caused me to become drunk.
He had me stumped. - I was stumped in that he had caused me to become stumped.
He got me stumped. (Rarely heard.) - He caused me to become stumped. (Usually, "He stumped me.")
She had me stoned. - I was 'in her power' in that she had caused me to become stoned.
She got me stoned. - She caused me to become stoned.
She has me spending. (Rare) - Under her influence, I am spending.
She got me spending. (Rare) - She caused me to spend.
She has got me spending. (Rare) - Variant of "She has me spending".
The music has me dancing. - I am under the influence of the music now; it has caused me to dance.
The music has got me dancing. - Variant of the previous example.
The music got me dancing. - The music caused me to dance.

CJ

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