Wild goose chase
My wheels in the bicycle stopped working. Usual thing, it probably happened to each of you one day or another. I’m not such a person who likes waiting for things to be done so I started to look for a wheelwright. I know there was such a job – the men who used to repair wheels or even make them themselves. I found the workshop of one of them: no hope, the padlock on the gate.
”I want to have my wheels fixed!”, I shouted standing there as I was totally shocked and astonished.
”You should replace your bicycle for a brand new one”, I was not asking for advice (maybe I was?) but there was a weird man standing next to me, ”I’ve listed many jobs of the past that do not exist anymore. They are not necessary. Progess, you know”, he commented sadly.
”What are they?”, I asked suspiciously. I have never thought of it before.
”I will show you round our borough. You will see a lot of interesting things”, promised the man.
The borough seemed to be foresaken and the man did not seem to be trustworthy but I had nothing to lose so I kept up appearances and followed him.
We passed many workshops now closed, probably forever: the thatcher’s where you could have your roof repaired, the tanner’s where you could have animal skins tanned, the street sprinkler’s, thanks to whom you could have the streets sprinkled with water in the past, the saddler’s, where you could have your saddle made… the dusk was approaching and the workshops were passing by as if they were disappearing forever.
”Isn’t there any place where I can have something done at present?”, I asked, losing my heart.
”Yes, there is. Never lose your heart without checking all possibilities”, I was not sure if the man was not able to read my thoughts. The whole situation was so unusual.
”Welcome to my place, young man”, said my companion and, out of the blue, stopped in front of the solid, wooden door. The letters upon the door were saying: ”John the Millwright. Real estates, Essex”.
”Mills are not so bad business, young man”, explained my guide.’Are you interested in buying one?’
I was not. Although I was really happy to find out I could have my mill built if I had enough money to buy it!
Konstrukcja – have something done
Używamy tej konstrukcji, kiedy ktoś ma coś dla nas zrobić (a my umawiamy się z tą osobą, ułatwiamy jej to, zamawiamy tę usługę itd.)
Oto przykłady:
I’m going to the hairdresser’s. I will have my hair done. – Idę do fryzjera. Uczesze mi włosy.
(Wiadomo, że jak idę do fryzjera, to nie po to, żeby samemu się trudzić z maszynerią do fryzury – zrobi to za mnie fryzjer, ja muszę się z nim tylko umówić i zapłacić mu za pracę).
Dla ułatwienia zapamiętywania, jak stworzyć zdanie z tą konstrukcją, używa się właśnie zwrotu have something done, a rozszyfrować go można tak:
HAVE w odpowiednim czasie i formie + coś (to, co ma być zrobione) + III forma czasownika (Past Participle)
Uwaga! Trzeba pamiętać o tym, że ta konstrukcja może występować w różnych czasach i formach. Odmieniamy wtedy tylko czasownik have. Na przykład:
I had my roof repaired last month. – W zeszłym miesiącu zreperowano mi dach.
Who will have pictures painted tomorrow? – Dla kogo będą jutro namalowane obrazki?
I’m going to have my central heating installed next summer. – Mam zamiar zainstalować centralne ogrzewanie w przyszłe lato.
Inne uwagi
- W potocznej angielszczyźnie (i raczej w języku mówionym niż pisanym) można spotkać się z formą
get something done. Znaczy dokładnie to samo co have something done.
- Czasami ten zwrot bywa używany na wyrażenie czegoś, co przydarza się danej osobie, choć wcale nie jest przez nią zaaranżowane, np.
They had their luggage stolen on last holidays. – Na ostatnich wakacjach ukradli im bagaż.
(Wiadomo, że nie zamawiali tej kradzieży).