0
Guest Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
They had me do
Does anybody know what is the rule governing this sentence?
Why it is not "they had me to do" but "they had me do"?
Why it is not "they had me to do" but "they had me do"?
Top answer
In that context "had" functions as a causative verb. As a causative verb, "had" expresses: a) I used a person to do something for me. EX: I had Max WASH the car.
- In that context "had" functions as a causative verb.
- As a causative verb, "had" expresses: a) I used a person to do something for me.
- EX: I had Max WASH the car.
- (I had someone DO something) b) I had something done by someone else.
- EX: I had the car WASHED.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
In that context "had" functions as a causative verb. As a causative verb, "had" expresses:
a) I used a person to do something for me.
EX: I had Max WASH the car. (I had someone DO something)
b) I had something done by someone else.
EX: I had the car WASHED. (I had something DONE)
Some causative verbs take DO, whereas others take the infinitive TO DO. The ve
a) I used a person to do something for me.
EX: I had Max WASH the car. (I had someone DO something)
b) I had something done by someone else.
EX: I had the car WASHED. (I had something DONE)
Some causative verbs take DO, whereas others take the infinitive TO DO. The ve
00
As additional information, there seem to be only three of the so-called 'coercive' verbs: 'Let', 'make' and 'have', which take the bare infinitive (no 'to') complement. A small set of common verbs that is easy to memorize!
0
Related Questions