he made me wash/he had me washing

[Vladv1]

He made me wash the floor every day/he had me washing the floor every day. What is the nuance of meaning if both mean that I was forced to wash the floor? Thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

He made me wash the floor every day/He had me washing wash the floor every day.

What is the nuance of meaning if both mean that I was forced to wash the floor? Thanks.

"He made me" and "He had me" are just two ways of saying the same thing in this context.

 

[Vladv]

"He made me" and "He had me" are just two ways of saying the same thing in this context.

Sorry, but I meant "He had me washing".

 

[5jj]

And emsr2d2 was referring to "He made me (wash)" and "He had me (washing)" .

 

[Vladv1]

And emsr2d2 was referring to "He made me (wash)" and "He had me (washing)" .

Do you agree that "He had me washing the dirty floor" even in forceful context implies that I was enjoing it, or am I wrong?

 

[5jj]

The words themselves do not imply enjoyment.

 

[emsr2d2]

Unless someone explicitly says they enjoy washing the floor, I wouldn't associate enjoyment with that activity. Being forced to do it would make it even less likely to be enjoyable!

 

[Annabel Lee]

And emsr2d2 was referring to "He made me (wash)" and "He had me (washing)" .

I suspect Vladv meant to contrast the following sentences:

1) He had me wash the floor every day.​

2) He had me washing the floor every day.​

Both are grammatical. Whereas (1) means that "he" instructed or hired the speaker to wash the floor every day, (2) means that "he" brought about the speaker's daily washing the floor in a more general way, perhaps by instructing him daily to do so, perhaps by creating messes on the floor daily which necessitated the daily washing of the floor by the speaker.

 

[jutfrank]

I imagine Vladv might want to contrast the third sentence too:

3) He made me wash the floor every day.

This one, compared to the other two, more strongly suggests my unwillingness to wash the floor, with a level of coercion that is lacking in sentences 1 and 2.

 

[Skrej]

"Made me" implies coercion. "Had me" implies a dislike for the activity, but not necessarily coercion.

 

[Annabel Lee]

"Had me" implies a dislike for the activity, but not necessarily coercion.

I think that's true in the context of the Vladv's example, but in other contexts have NP V-ing need not imply dislike. Yesterday I came across a box of vegetarian (meat-free) "sausages" at a grocery store with the following sentence on the box:

Whether you prefer pancakes or waffles, these sausages will have your tastebuds doing a double take! ​

 

[emsr2d2]

Who the hell has sausages with pancakes or waffles? Sausages are savoury. The other two are sweet! What is the world coming to?

 

[Skrej]

@emsr2d2 You uh, may want to have a seat before you read up about chicken and waffles.