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An American use of "have"?

hirashin

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Hello again, native English speakers. Would you help me again?

I'm researching about a use of "have". Are the following sentences in American usage?
1a) I'll have my secretary check my schedule.
2a) I had the waiter refill my coffee.
3a) I had my teacher correct my paper.
4a) He had his mother clean his room.


Would English-speaking people outside the US use "get" instead of "have"?
How about the following ones?
1b) I'll get my secretary to check my schedule.
2b) I got the waiter to refill my coffee.
3b) I got my teacher to correct my paper.
4b) He got his mother to clean his room.

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin
 
hirashin said:
I'm researching about a use of "have". Are the following sentences in American usage?
1a) I'll have my secretary check my schedule.
2a) I had the waiter refill my coffee.
3a) I had my teacher correct my paper.
4a) He had his mother clean his room.
Click to expand...
Yes, they are all in use, but only 1a is very common and 2a is fairly normal. 3a and 4a might be used but sound stiff.
Rather than 'got' or 'have', we will often use 'I asked my teacher to correct my paper.' You can use 'ask' in any of those sentences and it will sound normal.
 
Thank you for the help, Chris. I appreciate it.

3a and 4a are not commonly used. Ok.

Yes, I know that "ask" is used. But I'm focusing on "have" now.

1c) I'll ask my secretary to check my schedule.

Are there any differences between 1a and 1c? Does 1c sound politer than 1a or 1bw?

Hirashin
 
1a sounds most polite, 1b doesn't sound very polite, 1c sounds polite but not as formal as 'have'.
 
Both are in use here in New Zealand, all the examples are good, but have/had sounds more formal. Get/got is more common for everyday use. I agree with somecallmechris about the politeness. I'm not aware of the "have" usage being particularly American, if anything it sounds British to me. I could be wrong about that.
 
Have sounds like delegating work, which is why using it with a secretary is fine, but with a teacher is strange. Get sounds more like convincing/requesting.
 
View from the UK. I would naturally say any of the second set (with "get"). The first set (with "have") are slightly less natural for me personally to say, and perhaps do sound sightly American, but nevertheless it is a familiar pattern that I would not be greatly surprised to see or hear over here.
 
Thank you for the help, chris, rick, and eeky. I appreciate it.

To eeky:
Do all the second set (with "get") sound right to you?

Hirashin
 
Number 4 would have to be: He gets his mother
The rest are fine, but you would have to make sure you are higher in status than that person or else it may come across as rude.
 
Thank you for the help, letianchen.

letianchen said:
Number 4 would have to be: He gets his mother
Click to expand...

Would "got" be wrong? Why?

[QUOTE}
The rest are fine, but you would have to make sure you are higher in status than that person or else it may come across as rude.[/QUOTE]

Oh, really? If so, 3a,3b,4a and 4b are not good.

Hirashin
 
"got" is totally fine. but If you were to use "get" you would have to add the "s" so "gets"
However "gets" sounds a little bit more harsh, kind of like "he forced him mom to clean the room" and "got" although still a bit harsh(depending on context, but usage is fine here) is kind of
softer.

"had" is a little bit different actually. Depending on how you tone your voice it has the potential to be rude, 3a is perfectly fine if said in a normal voice. The funny thing is when you say "get" it makes it seem kind of like, you rule over the teacher, or they are your slave, however it does depend on context.

It comes down all to how you tone your voice, but "I had my teacher correct my paper." would definitely be better in my opinion. I would definitely prefer 1a,2a,3a,4a rather than the respective b's.
 
I can't agree with this. 'gets' and 'got' are just different tenses of the same word.
"He gets his mother to clean his room." -> On a regular, repeating basis he persuades or compels his mother to clean his room.
(Technically, 'He gets his mother to clean his room' could also be in the immediate present, but with a sentence like this that would only happen in present-tense narrative writing which itself is somewhat rare.)

"He got his mother to clean his room." -> One time, in this past, he persuaded or compelled his mother to clean his room.

If 'gets' sounds 'harsher' it's only because it implies more instances.
 
^ He is a smart man, listen to him I was wrong XD

But you know I don't think I would ever say to someone higher in
status then me "I get my mom to~" it still seems kind of informal.
 
Last edited:
Chris and letianchen, thank you for your views.

I know everyone can be wrong when he explains something about his native language.
People usually don't focus on grammatical things consciously when they speak the language.
That's why it is usually so difficult to explain grammatical things about their own language.

For example, a lot of people learning Japanese introduce themselves like this:
(1a) Watashi no namae wa Mike White (or Maiku Howaito) desu. Nihongo wo benkyou shimasu.
(私の名前はマイク・ホワイトです。日本語を勉強します。)

(1a) is wrong, because "benkyou shimasu" would suggest the future. You should say like (1b):
(1b) Maiku Howaito to iimasu / moushimasu. Nihongo wo benkyou shiteimasu.

When you have already started learning Japanese, you can't say "nihongo wo benkyou shimasu."
"Nihongo wo benkyou shimasu" usually refers to the future. So "raigetu kara nihongo wo benkyou
shimasu" would be fine.

Being fluent in a foreign language is really difficult.

If you find any mistakes in my English please feel free to correct them.

Thank you.

Hirashin
 
I'd like to add a few other uses of 'have'. Hope I'm not too late.

1) I have to get up in the morning tomorrow = I 'must' get up in the morning tomorrow
2) I have a house and a car = I own a house and a car.
 
Thank you for the input, Yzlot.

Unfortunately, your examples are a bit off the topic.

In this thread I'm focusing on the pattern "have someone do" and "get someone to do".

Yes, I know "have" has a lot of meanings. Simple words are not simple.

Thanks, anyway.

Hirashin
 
Hi hirashin I read your post again, and I thought I would point something out.

When you said "You should say like..."
it should be "You should say something like", or "You should say something along the likes of "You should say like.." is something that teenage girls(some) and very rarely guys ( unless trying to be funny) in north america would say, and it would sound weird if anyone else said so otherwise

For example I have heard this before in a mall. A majority of the time the person saying the following sentence will be a teenage girl, but It could be a boy too.
"You should,[like], go that store today"
 
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