Here’s an example of someone or something causing something to happen to you while you are passive:
get ready to have your mind blown.
‘Proactive’ means ‘taking action by causing change and not only reacting to change when it happens.’ In this post related to causative verbs, we look at two different resources.
In the English Grammar Profile (EGP), B2 point 30 in PASSIVES is defined as:
have + object + -ed to talk about something where the speaker is in a pro-active or a passive role.
This is slightly similar to Pearson’s GSE 56 B1+ defined:
- ‘get/have’ to refer to having things done by other people.
- ‘have/get’ + NP + past participle for impersonal agency
- I’m having my flat painted.
- I’ve just had my car repaired.
We can follow the pattern in the examples in the EGP as:
_vh _a _n _vvn
When we look in iWeb corpus for this pattern, we realise most results do not match our definition. They have been put to the right. Some are idiomatic too.
1 HAVE THEIR WORK CUT 1600
2 HAS THE MEANING GIVEN 1564
3 HAVE YOUR HEART SET 1433
HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD
Syria Direct5 HAS HIS SIGHTS SET 867
6 HAS HIS WORK CUT 704
7 HAS A FEATURE CALLED 701
8 HAS THEIR GENDER REPORTED 694
9 HAVE THEIR PICTURE TAKEN 679
10 HAVE THE SKILLS NEEDED 627
11 HAVE MY FINGERS CROSSED 578
12 HAVE THEIR SIGHTS SET 565
13 HAD A SON NAMED 547
14 HAVE HIS WORK CUT 546
15 HAVE THEIR PHOTO TAKEN 541
16 HAD MY HEART SET 512
17 HAVE YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED 506
18 HAVE YOUR PHOTO TAKEN 505
19 HAVE YOUR PICTURE TAKEN 483
20 HAS ITS SIGHTS SET 475
21 HAS THE MEANING SET 472
22 HAVE YOUR WORK CUT 469
23 HAVE THE SKILL SET 453
24 HAVE A CONDITION CALLED 445
25 HAS HER SIGHTS SET 443
26 HAVE THE MEANINGS GIVEN 442
27 HAS THE TIME GONE 415
28 HAVE YOUR MIND BLOWN 402
29 HAS ITS WORK CUT 382
30 HAVE THE SKILLS REQUIRED 373
31 HAS THE MEANING ASSIGNED 357
32 HAD THEIR WORK CUT 344
33 HAS A PROGRAM CALLED 342
34 HAVE OUR WORK CUT 335
HAVE THE APP INSTALLED
36 HAVE THE MEANING GIVEN 325
37 HAS THE MEANING ASCRIBED 319
38 HAS THE SKILL SET 319
39 HAVE THEIR VOICE HEARD 307
40 HAD A DAUGHTER NAMED 297
41 HAVE A JOB LINED 287
42 HAVE A PROGRAM CALLED 286
43 HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD 281
44 HAD MY GALLBLADDER REMOVED 278
45 HAVE THE MEANINGS ASCRIBED 278
46 HAVE A FILE CALLED 276
47 HAS YOUR LIFE CHANGED 271
48 HAVE A QUESTION RELATED 261
49 HAS A WELL ESTABLISHED 259
50 HAS HIS EYES SET 253
51 HAD HIS WORK CUT 251
52 HAVE A FEATURE CALLED 250
53 HAVE THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED 249
54 HAVE THE TOOLS NEEDED 247
55 HAVE THEIR PICTURES TAKEN 246
56 HAVE A PHOTO TAKEN 245
57 HAVE A TRIP PLANNED 230
58 HAS A SON NAMED 226
59 HAVE THE INFORMATION NEEDED 223
60 HAVE A WELL DEFINED 222
61 HAS A YEAR LEFT 221
62 HAVE A LOT LEFT 219
63 HAVE THEIR PHOTOS TAKEN 217
64 HAVE A SON NAMED 216
65 HAD NO IDEA EXISTED 212
66 HAVE OUR FINGERS CROSSED 210
67 HAVE THE RESOURCES NEEDED 209
68 HAS HIS HEART SET 206
69 HAS A DAUGHTER NAMED 205
70 HAVE THEIR NEEDS MET 203
71 HAVE YOUR ORDER DELIVERED 202
72 HAVING THEIR PICTURE TAKEN 200