Have/get something done
FORM:
– have + object + past participle (the most common form)
– get + object + past participle (also possible when people are speaking informally).
USE:
– to say that someone else did something for you because you wanted them to.
– He had his hair cut specially for the interview.
– He’s got such big feet he has to have his shoes specially made.
– Where can I get these papers photocopied?
– He deciced to get the photograph enlarged.
We also use have something done to say that someone else did something to you even though you didn’t want them to.
– He had to have a kidney removed.
– She said she’d had her necklace stolen.
Wish
1. We use wish + past simple to express a wish that has not come true in the present or to talk about wishes that might come true in the future
We use this structure when we want our own situation (or the situation of the person who is doing the whishing) to be different.
– I wish Eleanor liked me.
– Don’t you wish you had a big car?
– I wish she was/were going out with me.
– We all wish the weather wasn’t/weren’t so bad.
2. We use wish + would and could to refer to general wishes for the future
– I wish the sun would shine.
– I wish I could be in the basketball team.
3. Wish + would is used to talk about wishes we have for other people
– I wish my sister would stop smoking.
– I wish he wouldn’t chew gum all the time.
Watch Out! This form is not often used with I or we. To talk about wishes we have for ourselves we use could.
– I wish I could have a holiday.
4. We use wish + past perfect to refer to things we are sorry about in the past
– I wish I had been invited to the party.
– She wishes she hadn’t told him about Carlo.