had someone _____verb ?

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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simonwai99
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had someone _____verb ?

Post by simonwai99 »

Hi teachers
My teacher had all students ______( write ) a research paper.
what is the answer to this q ? thx
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Alan
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Post by Alan »

The answer is 'write': it is a causative construction, where 'had' means 'made' (in the sense 'forced/obliged').
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Post by googl »

Dear teacher,

Why we use in this causative construction the infinitive, not the past participle? I have sb./sth. do instead of I have sb./sth. done?
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Alan
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Post by Alan »

They serve different purposes: 'have smb. do smth.' focuses on the person, while 'have smth. done' focuses simply on the action, without reference to its agent.
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