[Grammar] causative

[Meja]

Hello!

Could someone tell me if there is some difference in meaning between these statements:

a. I'll have my furniture decorated soon.
b. I'll get my furniture decorated soon.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Tdol]

Not really, though you are more likely to have/get your home decorated than your furniture IMO.

 

[Meja]

Does that mean that there is absolutely no difference between to have sth done and to get sth done?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Not any substantive difference.

 

[Tdol]

Does that mean that there is absolutely no difference between to have sth done and to get sth done?

If things are worded differently, there is rarely absolutely no difference between them. Get is said to be less formal, so it might be more common in colloquial contexts, but the meaning is the same and you could use either form in just about every context. 99.9% is not 100%, but the difference is small.

 

[Meja]

I have to ask again if I it is okay to use 'get' in this type of causative sentence (when something unpleasant happened and someone didn't 'employ' and ask someone else to do something for them):

I had my jacket stolen.
He had his driving licence taken away yesterday.
They had electricity cut off because they hadn't paid the bill.

 

[tedmc]

I would rephrase the sentences like this:

My jacket got stolen.
His driving licence got taken away yesterday.
Their electricity got cut off because they hadn't pay the bill.

 

[Meja]

Thanks for the answer and correction.

I obviously called them by the wrong name, but that's because they're studied and explained in books together with the first type of sentences (e.g. I had my walls painted.), so I mixed them up.
Does that mean that it is not possible to use got instead of had there?

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think it is possible if the following definition is correct, but I am not a teacher.
'19 ..used to say that something, especially something bad, happens to someone or something
get something caught/stuck etc'── quoted from http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/get

 

[Tdol]

Does that mean that it is not possible to use got instead of had there?

I would only use had in your examples.

 

[Meja]

So I have two different answers.:-?

 

[Tdol]

Not really- I only expressed a preference.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think 'I would' suggests personal preference, but I am not a teacher.