Have something done:

http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/have-something-done

Take a look at these two sentences. What is the difference in meaning between them? 'I cut my hair.' 'I have my hair cut.' 'I cut my hair' means that I do it myself. 'I have my hair cut means someone cuts my hair for me (in this case it's probably a hairdresser). We use have something done to mean another person does a service for us. The grammar for this is pretty simple: Have + object + past participle Let's take a look at a few more examples: 'We didn't want to cook so we had a pizza delivered.' 'I had my car washed at that new place by the station.' 'I had my watch fixed.' We can also use 'get' instead of 'had' and the meaning stays the same. The sentences above now become: 'We didn't want to cook so we got a pizza delivered.' 'I got my car washed at that new place by the station.' 'I got my watch fixed.'

future
'I had my watch fixed' tells us about the past. 'I am going to have / get my watch fixed' tells us about the future. 'Going to' tells us about a future plan that has already been made. We use 'will' for something that has just been decided:

I just noticed how dirty my suit is. I will have / get it cleaned soon.'

questions
Imagine that you like your friend's new haircut; you could ask her: 'Where did you have / get your hair cut?' Maybe you have just moved to a new town and you decided that it is time for a haircut ;you can ask: 'Where can I have / get my hair cut?' You want to know if your friend's car has been fixed yet; you can ask: 'Did you have your car fixed?'

services for a busy world

As we all live in a busy world, we don't have the time (or skills)to do all the things that we need to. That's why we have a service industry that will help us get what need done. Take a look at these examples: A jeweller's is a place where you can have your watch fixed. A dry cleaner's is a place where you can have your suit cleaned. A florist's is a place where you can have flowers delivered. A hairdresser's is a place where you can have your hair cut. A dentist's is a place where you can have your teeth checked. An optician's is a place where you can have your eyes checked. A garage is a place where you can have your car repaired.

using have something done for bad things

In all the examples above we have looked at services we can pay for if we want. We can also use the same expression when someone does something bad to us. For example: 'Jenny had her car stolen.' Here Jenny did not want someone to steal her car, but someone did it. 'Have you ever had your nose broken in a fight?' Nobody wants to have their nose broken, but it could happen!

Active and Passive Voice Preintermediate:

Active Voice

The subject performs the action expressed in the verb; the subject acts. SVO: Subject + Verb + Object e.g. John opens the door Passive Voice

The subject receives the action expressed in the verb; the subject is acted upon. Object + be Past Participle + Subject e.g. The door is opened by John

Writing Practice
Let's practice changing sentences form active to passive voice. Write your sentences in the comments b box. 1. Mary ate the cookies. 2. Don painted the picture. 3. Tim answered the phone. 4. Bob wrote the letter. 5. A bus hit the scooter.
Let's practice changing sentences from passive to active voice.

6. The book was read by the boy. 7. The window was closed by Mary. 8. The models' shoes were designed by Claire.

9. The letter was written by Bob. 10. Scooters are repaired by mechanics.

So and Such
http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/so-and-such

Vocabulary In English we have many different ways of emphasing a particular point. Words like 'very' and 'extremely' are the most known by students. Others ways to do this are with 'so' and 'such'. If you say: "it's so hot today!", it's a stronger emphasis than saying "it's very hot today." The structure is: SO + ADJECTIVE Another alternative is by saying "It's such a hot day!" This is also stronger than 'very' The structure is: SUCH + ADJECTIVE + NOUN Choose the best answer for each question. Good luck! Lesson by Sebastian, EC Cape Town English Schol

1. I can't believe that you were ___ stupid! Correct! so such a

2. I love my teacher, he's ___ nice person. Correct! so such a

3. I hated that movie. It was ___ boring. Correct! such a so

4. People in Brazil are ___ big fans of football. Correct! such so

5. I was ___ tired that I fell asleep on the train. Correct! such so

6. I really love eating sushi, it's ___ delicious. Correct! such so

7. I think English is ___ interesting language. Correct! so such an

8. When we went on holiday we had ___ good time. Correct! so such a

9. Today felt like it wouldn't end! It was ___ long! Correct! such a so

10. He studies for at least 2 hours every day. He's ___ great student. Correct! so such a