CAUSATIVES

Causative structures indicate that one thing or person causes another thing or person to do
something or be something.

Examples of causatives

Have (give someone the responsibility to do something)

 I had John fix the car

 I had my hair cut

Make (force someone to do something)

 The teacher made the students work in groups

 Our boss made us work extra hours

Get (convince or trick someone into doing something)

 He got the mechanic to repair the machine.

 She got him to read more.

Let (allow someone do something)

 Jane let her son go out

 They let the children play in the yard

HAVE / GET SOMETHING DONE

subject + have / get + direct object + verb3

Examples:
Mr. Chaps got his house painted.
Gary had his ring polished.
He had himself kicked out of school.
I had my tooth extracted yesterday.

HAVE / MAKE SOMEBODY DO / GET SOMEBODY TO DO SOMETHING

Subject + have / make + somebody + verb (infinitive)

Subject - get + somebody + to verb (infinitive)

Examples:
I had Luis repair my car.
I made my little brother say sorry.
Fred got his friend to do his homework.
Charlie had the carpenter repair the table.
Dora had her hairdresser cut her hair.
Choose the right option.

1. Sally made me ---- my shoes before I went into her house. She said she wanted to keep the
carpet clean.

take off
to take off

2. I see that you have no time to clean the house on your own so you had better get
somebody ---- it for you.

done
to do

3. What you should do before an emergency occurs is to get your fire alarm ---- that will also
make you feel safer.

to fix
fixed

4. She had to have her phone number ---- because she was receiving obscene calls from a
stranger.

change
changed

5. Her dress was too long, so she had it ----.

shorten
shortened

6. You'd better have a plumber ---- the leak in the bathroom.

repair
repaired

7. Instead of buying a new pair of shoes, I had my old ones ----.

repair
repaired

8. I got everyone in the family ---- Mary's birthday card before I sent it to her.

sign
to sign

9. I didn't have any time so I had my sister ---- my paper last night.

type
to type
10. The teacher got the students ---- the first quatrain of the poem to make it easy to
memorize.

write
to write

11. Regular repetition makes one ---- new words easily.

learn
to learn

12. I'm going ............ at the new hairdresser's

to get my hair cut
to cut my hair

13. She needs to ........

have her car repairs
have her car repaired

14. I really must get ....... the central heating

somebody to fix
somebody fix

15. They ought to have ........ replace the broken windows

somebody to
somebody

16. He ......... while he was away on holiday

had his flat burgled
burgled his flat

17. I .......... my phone repaired after I dropped it

had
had to

18. She didn't have time to get to the shops and .......
get her film developed
develop her film

19. It took ages to get ...........

somebody do it
somebody to do it

20. I'll ....... John to do it when he arrives

get
 have

21. She ......... on the underground last week

had her purse stolen
got her purse stolen

22. He .......... tickets sent to his home address yesterday

has had
had

23. You should .......... a long time ago

have it fixed
have had it fixed

24. They couldn't .......... anyone to fix their burst pipes

get
have

25. They had it ....... by the same person who decorated their old house
to do
done

26. After winning a fortune, she ....... her family to do everything for her
gets
has

27. I ......... the house redecorated if I could afford it

would have
would have had

28. He got a friend ........ him at the airport

meet
to meet

29. The teacher ...... him do all the work again

had
got

30. He ....... his bags loaded onto the train by a porter

had
get
PREPOSITIONS
a. Prepositions of place, position and direction.
b. Prepositions of time.
c. Prepositions for other relationships.

SOME COMMON PREPOSITIONS

PLACE POSITION DIRECTION TIME OTHER

on
above beyond
opposite
across by after except
out (of)
along down before as
outside
among from at like
over
at in by about
around
away from in front of for with
through
behind inside during without
to
below into from by
towards
beside near in for
under
between off
up

Although prepositions are hard to generalize with separate rules, there is one simple rule
about them. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no exceptions.

Rule:

They are always followed by a "noun", never followed by a verb.

By "noun" we include:

 Noun (dog, money, love)

 Proper Noun (name) (London, Mary)
 Pronoun (you, him, us)
 Noun Group (my first car)
 Gerund (swimming)

If we want to follow with a verb, we must use the "-ing" form which is really a gerund or verb
in noun form.

Subject + Verb Preposition "noun"

The pen is on the table.

He lives in England.

Henry is looking for you.

 The newspaper is under your green book.

Pascal is used to English people.

She isn't used to working.

We ate before coming.

Prepositions of Time / Place at, in, on

 At for a PRECISE TIME

 In for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
 On for DAYS and Dates

At In On

At 4:30 pm in March on Monday

At 3 o'clock In Winter On 6 March

At noon In the summer On 22 Dec.2012

At dinnertime In 1990 On Christmas Day

At bedtime In the next century On your birthday

At the moment In the future On New Year's Eve

Notice that use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:

 In the morning /On Monday morning

 In the mornings / On Sunday mornings
 In the afternoon(s) / On Sunday afternoons
 In the evening(s) / On Friday evenings

When we say next, last, this, every we do not use at, in, on.

I went to New York last June (not in last June)

She is coming back next Monday. (not on next Monday)
I go home every Easter . (not at every Easter)
We'll call you this afternoon. (not in this afternoon)
Place: at, in, on

In General:

 At for a POINT (dog, money, love)

 In for an ENCLOSED SPACE
 On for a SURFACE

At In On

At the bus stop In London On the wall

At the corner In the garden On the ceiling

At the entrance In a box On the floor

At the crossroads In a building On the carpet

At the top of the page In a car On a page

Some other common uses of at / on / in

At In On

At home In a car On a bus

At work In a taxi On a train

At school In a helicopter On a plane

At university In an elevator On a bicycle

At the top In the sky On the radio

At the bottom In the street On the left

At the side In a row On a horse

At reception In a boat On a boat

Notice how we can use on a boat or in a boat depending on the type and the size of the
particular boat/ship.

Single Word Prepositions

about as despite of toward

above at during off under

across before for on underneath

after behind from onto until

against beneath in over up

along beside into through upon

among between like to with

around by near together within

Single Word Prepositions

according to because of contrary to except for

in addition to in spite of on account of with regard to

More on Prepositions Use

Prepositions use Example

during the movie, during the flight, during

during while in
my stay

for for two days, for an hour

from / to from Saturday to Monday, from 5 to 9

between 1986 and 2012, between Saturday

between the time period from one to another
and Monday
 until/till before a certain time until/till Sunday,5 o'clock

by at the least by Tuesday, by next month, by tomorrow

to movement towards to school, to work, to the station

into movement towards inside something into the cinema, into the car

out of to leave a place/a thing out of the theater, out of the car

by near/next to/beside LINK stand by me, by the lake

through through the tunnel, through the room

across opposite ends across the river, across the street

against against the wall, against the door

into movement towards inside something into the cinema, into the car

Choose the appropriate prepositions to complete the sentences.

1. They live ---- Atlantic Avenue.

at
in
on
to

2. Tokyo is the most crowded city ---- the world.

on
at
in
over

3. Don't walk ---- the street! Walk here ---- the sidewalk.
in / on
on / at
at / on
in / to
4. I'm going to meet my friends, ---- Times Square tonight.
on
at
in
over

5. He tried to open the tin ---- a knife.

with
by
to
of

6. Mike is sitting ---- the desk ---- front of the door.

at / in
in / on
on / on
at / at

7. Listen! I think there is someone ---- the front door.

on
at
in
with

8. There's paper ---- the floor. Please put it ---- the wastebasket.
at / into
on / at
on / in
over / at

9. See you ---- Monday morning.

under
at
in
on

10. We are giving him a surprise party ---- his birthday.

in
at
with
on
11. A dictionary has information ---- words.
to
about
in
at

12. You'll find the poem ---- page 16.

at
on
in
over

13. I'll call you ---- seven o'clock.

in
on
at
of

14. We'll go ---- Caribbeans ---- June.

- / in
at / on
to / on
to / in

15. I was born ---- September 9th.

in
on
at
of
 Questions and Answers

1. I have decided ...... a new car.

A. Buy

B. To buy

C. Buying

2. It might ...... tomorrow. You should take an umbrella.

A. Raining

B. To rain

C. Rain

5. I spent most of my summer ...... under the hot sun.

A. Sunbathe

B. Sunbathing

C. To sunbathe

6. I hate ..... maths.

A. To study

B. Study

C. Studying

8. My father makes me ....... out the rubbish.

A. Taking

B. To take

C. Take

9. Remember .......me the book I gave you last week. I need it for a project

A. To give

B. Give

C. Giving

11. I may ...... hiking tomorrow if the weather is good.

A. Going

B. Go

C. To go

12. Nefeli’s mother doesn’t ...... her watch TV on weekdays.

A. Let

B. Letting

C. To let

13. I started ...... photography lessons.

A. Taking

B. To take

C. Take

16. It’s easy ...... between right and wrong!

A. Choosing

B. To choose

C. Choose

17. You should ...... greek food. It’s delicious!

A. Try

B. To try

C. Trying

19. I really like this band. I can’t stop ....... to it.

A. Listening

B. Listen

C. To listen

20. Eleni went to the library ....... a book.

A. Borrowing

B. Borrow

C. To borrow
Practice

1. In the evenings, I often play chess with my next door neighbor. I ---- chess with him ever
since I ---- to live here ten years ago.

A) have been playing / came

B) play / came
C) have been playing / have come
D) am playing / have come
E) have played / have come

2. Ann ---- her driving test three times because she's so bad at reversing. But she ----
reversing since last week and i think she has got a bit better at it.

A) has failed / has been practicing

B) failed / practiced
C) failed / was practicing
D) fails / practices
E) has failed / is practicing

3. I have been waiting for the prices of the houses to come down before buying one, but I
think I ---- too long and the prices ---- to go up again.

A) am waiting / are beginning

B) wait / began
C) am waiting / began
D) have waited / are beginning
E) waited / were beginning

4. Last year, I experienced how tedious long plane trips could be. i ---- In an airplane for
fairly long distances before that, but never as long as when I went to Australia last June.

A) have never flown

B) didn't fly
C) have flown
D) had flown
E) hadn't flown

5. This bicycle ---- In our family for fourteen years. My father used it for the first five years,
my brother rode it for the next five and I ----it for the last four.

A) is / have had
B) had been / had
C) has been / have had
D) was / had had
E) has been / had
 6. It's a great pity you didn't come to London with us last summer, As you --- it before, it ---- a
wonderful holiday for you.

A) hadn't seen / would have been

B) have never seen / will surely be
C) didn't see / has been
D) didn't see / had been
E) haven't see n / was

7. Yesterday at a restaurant, I saw Sally, an old friend of mine. I had not see n her for years.
At first, I ---- her because she ---- at least 20 kilos.

A) didn't recognize / lost

B) didn't recognize / will lose
C) didn't recognize / had lost
D) hadn't recognized / lost
E) haven't recognized / had lost

8. Our committee is trying to raise money to buy a new lifeboat. By the end of the year, we ----
out 5.000 letters asking for contributions.

A) were to send
B) will send
C) will be sending
D) will have been sending
E) will have sent

Choose the appropriate options to complete the sentences

1. Today, ---- people who enjoy winter sports is much greater than that of twenty years ago.

A) a number of
B) many
C) a great deal of
D) the number of
E) several

2. According to the studies, dolphins, whales and ---- other sea creatures use highly
sophisticated navigation systems.

A) any
B) a little
C) many
D) much
 E) each

3. The dietary habits of a child often have ---- to do with that child's eating habits as an
adult.

A) little
B) whole
C) every
D) a great amount
E) most

4. In the United States of America, there are literacy classes for workers, ---- of whom never
graduated from high school.

A) a little
B) much
C) any
D) many
E) a good deal

5. In the first ---- months of life, an infant learns how to lift its head, how to smile and how
to recognize its parents.

A) many
B) a lot of
C) any
D) the number of
E) few

6. Serving ---- terms in Congress, Shirley Chisholm became an important United States
politician.

A) plenty
B) several
C) a lot
D) much
E) whole

7. Although the language learning abilities of apes have surprised ---- scientists, they
generally agree that apes do not progress beyond ---- linguistic abilities of a two-year-old
child.

A) few / a
B) a little / the
C) many / the
 D) each / a
E) much / the

8. The storm continued for ---- of the days when we were in New Orleans,·but fortunately
there wasn't ---- damage in the city.

A) a few / many
B) several / a lot
C) all / a little
D) most / much
E) some / few

9. Heavy fines and jail sentences have made ---- difference in preventing elephant poaching
for their tusks.

A) the number of
B) a few
C) little
D) many
E) none

10. Although ---- species of fox are reddish in color, ---- Arctic fox is often pure white.

A) a great amount of / an
B) any / the
C) plenty / the
D) all / an
E) most / the