have something done = do something?

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sitifan

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2006
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Retired English Teacher
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Taiwan
Current Location
Taiwan
After Mr Wimpenny had the plane built, it was tested thoroughly. In 1961, it was the first man-powered aircraft to fly half a mile. While being flown by a champion amateur cyclist in 1963, the plane crashed on an airfield. Since then, Mr Wimpenny has had it rebuilt. He has had the length of the wings increased so that they now measure 93 feet--almost as long as those of a Dakota. Many people have shown interest in this new and unusual sport.
[quoted from Lesson 66 Sweet as honey]
https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv11806565
The paraphrases below are quoted from A Dictionary of Answers to Common Questions in English, by Zhao Zhencai. Do native speakers agree with them?
1. After Mr Wimpenny had the plane built, it was tested thoroughly.(=After Mr Wimpenny built the plane, it was tested thoroughly.)
2. Since then, Mr Wimpenny has had it rebuilt.(=Since then, Mr Wimpenny has rebuilt it.)
3. He has had the length of the wings increased . . . (=He has increased the length of the wings . . .)
 
If you have somebody else do something you get them to do it for you. If that person is doing work for you we usually assume it's for payment of some sort.
 
I don't understand what point Mr Zhao is trying to make.

As the designer of the plane, Mr Wimpenny didn't physically construct the plane himself but rather got some engineers to build it for him.
 
After Mr Wimpenny had the plane built, it was tested thoroughly. In 1961, it was the first man-powered aircraft to fly half a mile. While being flown by a champion amateur cyclist in 1963, the plane crashed on an airfield. Since then, Mr Wimpenny has had it rebuilt. He has had the length of the wings increased so that they now measure 93 feet--almost as long as those of a Dakota. Many people have shown interest in this new and unusual sport.
[quoted from Lesson 66 Sweet as honey]
https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv11806565
The paraphrases below are quoted from A Dictionary of Answers to Common Questions in English, by Zhao Zhencai. Do native speakers agree with them?
1. After Mr Wimpenny had the plane built, it was tested thoroughly.(=After Mr Wimpenny built the plane, it was tested thoroughly.)
2. Since then, Mr Wimpenny has had it rebuilt.(=Since then, Mr Wimpenny has rebuilt it.)
3. He has had the length of the wings increased . . . (=He has increased the length of the wings . . .)
 
The paraphrases below are quoted from A Dictionary of Answers to Common Questions in English, by Zhao Zhencai. Do native speakers agree with them?
1. After Mr Wimpenny had the plane built, it was tested thoroughly.(=After Mr Wimpenny built the plane, it was tested thoroughly.)
2. Since then, Mr Wimpenny has had it rebuilt.(=Since then, Mr Wimpenny has rebuilt it.)
3. He has had the length of the wings increased . . . (=He has increased the length of the wings . . .)
Zhao Zhencai is wrong.
 
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