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ESL Lesson Plan · CEFR B2

Causative Have and Get ESL Lesson Plan (B2, 60 Minutes)

A complete 60-minute B2 lesson on Causative Have and Get, built round the theme "Services, Favours and Bad Luck".

  • CEFR B2
  • 60 minutes
  • Teenagers and adults
  • Grammar
  • The Passive
  • Causative Have and Get

About this lesson

Who it is for. Upper-intermediate students who use the passive in all tenses. When they talk about services they say I cut my hair yesterday (meaning a hairdresser did it) or I had cut my hair, and they don't know the get passive (get stolen, get fired).

Everything the lesson needs is on this page: the language analysis, the timed stages with the teacher's own words and instruction-checking questions, the differentiation, the printable handouts and the answer key.

At a glance

Level
CEFR B2 (Upper-intermediate)
Learners
Teenagers and adults
Length
60 minutes. For 45 minutes, run only "Survey" of the two tasks in "Freer practice" and cut "Feedback and wrap-up" to board-based error correction.
Skills
Speaking and writing
Language focus
Grammar: Causative Have and Get (have something done) and the Get Passive
Framework
PPP (presentation, practice, production)
Materials
Handout 1 (Kaveesha's busy Saturday: a blog post), Handout 2 (language reference and practice), Handout 3 (further practice), Handout 4 (survey and story cards).
Preparation
About 10 minutes: print Handouts 1 to 4, one per learner, and read the language analysis. The answer key is for you, not the class.

Aims

Main aim. To develop students' use of the causative (have / get + object + past participle) for services, have something done for bad experiences, and the get passive in informal English.

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can talk about services they use and bad things that have happened, e.g. I'm having my phone screen repaired. My cousin had his bag stolen on the train. He got fined for parking.

  • Subsidiary aim. To develop fluency in describing errands and misfortunes.
  • Subsidiary aim. To practise sentence stress in causative sentences.

Language analysis

What to know before the lesson: the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language, and the problems learners usually have with it.

Form

StructureFormExample
Causative havehave + object + past participleI had my hair cut yesterday.
Causative get (informal)get + object + past participleI need to get my car serviced.
All tenseschange have / getI'm having my kitchen painted. I've just had my eyes tested. I'll get it fixed tomorrow.
Question / negativedo / did + haveWhere did you have your photo taken? I didn't have it delivered.
Bad experiencehave + object + past participleShe had her bag stolen. (Nobody wanted this!)
Get passive (informal)get + past participleHe got fired. Our flight got cancelled. My phone got broken.

Meaning and use

  • Causative: someone else does the action for us, usually a service we pay for. I cut my hair = I did it myself. I had my hair cut = a hairdresser did it.
  • have something done can also describe something bad that happened to us (not arranged): We had our car broken into.
  • get passive: informal; often for unexpected or negative events: get hurt, get lost, get stolen, get caught, get fined, get promoted.

Pronunciation

  • Stress the object and the participle, not had: I had my HAIR CUT. She had her BAG STOLen.
  • Weak had: /həd/ or /əd/.

Concept-checking questions

  • I had my hair cut yesterday. Did I cut my hair myself? (No.) · Who cut it? (A hairdresser.) · Did I pay? (Probably, yes.)
  • Malik had his phone stolen. Did Malik want this to happen? (No.) · Did he arrange it? (No, it's a bad experience.)

Anticipated problems and solutions

ProblemSolution
Wrong word order (I had cut my hair).Board: have + OBJECT + pp; show that I had cut my hair is past perfect (I did it).
Using the active for services (I repaired my phone = a shop did it).CCQ: "Did you do it yourself?"
Base verb instead of participle (I had my car wash).Highlight the participle; quick drill.
Overusing get in formal writing.Note: get is informal; use have or the be passive in formal writing.

Board plan

Left: services and bad luckCentre: patternsRight: pronunciation
hair cut · eyes tested · car serviced · phone screen repaired · photo taken · suit made · house painted · bag stolen · car broken into · flight cancelled
I cut my hair. (myself) · I had my hair cut. (a hairdresser did it) · have / get + OBJECT + pp · not: I had cut my hair ✗ · She had her bag stolen. (bad experience) · get + pp (informal): got fined / lost / hurt / promoted
I had my HAIR CUT. · had /həd/ · She had her BAG STOLen.

CEFR B2 · 60 minutes · Teenagers and adults

Procedure: Causative Have and Get, step by step

Warm-up5 minutes · Pairs, then whole class

Aim: To introduce the topic of services.

Write on the board: hairdresser · optician · mechanic · photographer · tailor · phone repair shop.

Ask: "When did you last visit one of these? Why?" Pairs discuss (2 minutes).

Take two answers and board one exactly as the student says it (e.g. I cut my hair last week).

Presentation20 minutes · Individual, pairs, whole class

Aim: To present the causative and the get passive in context and clarify their form and meaning.

Part A: Reading (6 minutes)

Give out Handout 1. Say: "Read Kaveesha's blog. How many things did she have done? What went wrong? Three minutes."

Pairs compare. Students answer the four questions. Check as a class.

Part B: Noticing (4 minutes)

Say: "Underline every example of have or get + another verb. Who did each action: Kaveesha or someone else?" Pairs compare.

Part C: Clarification (10 minutes)

Board I cut my hair and I had my hair cut. Ask the CCQs. Elicit the form: have + object + past participle.

Show that have changes tense: I'm having my phone repaired. I've had my eyes tested. I'll get it fixed.

Show questions and negatives: Where did you have it done? I didn't have it delivered.

Bad experiences. Board She had her bag stolen. Ask the CCQs.

get passive. Elicit examples from the blog: got broken, got soaked, got cancelled. Note that they are informal.

Return to the student's sentence from Stage 1. Ask: "Did you really cut it yourself?" Correct it together.

Pronunciation. Drill with stress on the object and participle: I had my HAIR CUT. She had her BAG STOLen.

Controlled practice10 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class

Aim: To practise the forms accurately.

Give out Handout 2. Say: "Read the reference box. Exercise A: write sentences with have something done. Exercise B: choose the correct form. Seven minutes."

Pairs check. Check as a class.

Fast finishers do Handout 3 (further practice); otherwise set it for homework.

Freer practice18 minutes · Mingle, then groups

Aim: To use the forms fluently in personalised speaking and storytelling.

Survey (8 minutes). Give out Handout 4. Students mingle and ask the survey questions: "Have you ever had your photo taken by a professional photographer?" "When did you last have your eyes tested?" They ask one follow-up question each time.

ICQs: "How many follow-up questions?" (One for each question.)

Bad luck stories (8 minutes). In groups, students take a story card and tell a short (true or invented) story of bad luck, using at least one have something done and one get passive: "Last year, I had my wallet stolen on the bus, and then I got fined because I didn't have my ticket!" The group chooses the unluckiest story.

The group tells the unluckiest story to the class (2 minutes).

Monitor and note language use.

Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To give feedback and consolidate.

Board sentences from Stage 4 (correct and incorrect). Students correct the errors.

Ask: "What's the difference between I painted my house and I had my house painted?"

Set the homework.

Homework Complete Handout 3. Then write an email to a friend (150 words) about a busy week of errands that went wrong. Use have / get something done at least four times and the get passive twice.

PPP (presentation, practice, production). Stage times add up to 60 minutes.

Differentiation

Support
Give weaker students the services vocabulary with pictures. Provide frames: I had my ___ ___ed. I need to get my ___ ___ed.
Stretch
Stronger students use the causative with a person: I had the mechanic check the brakes. I got my brother to fix it. They use need + -ing / need to be + pp: My car needs servicing.

Adapting the lesson

ForWhat to change
A large class (40 or more)Keep the pairwork in "Freer practice" in fixed pairs rather than a mingle, and take feedback from four or five pairs instead of the whole room. Run "Survey" once, with two pairs reporting, rather than hearing every pair. Monitor one half of the room during "Controlled practice" and the other half during "Freer practice".
A class with no photocopierPut the exercises from Handout 2: Language Focus and Practice on the board for learners to copy into their notebooks, and read any text aloud twice instead of printing it. Handout 4: Survey and Story Cards works read out from the front: learners note what they need rather than holding a card. The board plan above is this lesson's minimum - with that on the board, it runs on no paper at all.
An online classSend Handouts 1 to 4 in the chat before the lesson and put the board plan on a shared slide. Use breakout rooms for "Survey" and visit each room once. Have learners type the controlled answers in the chat, so you see every answer at once instead of nominating.
A different age groupWith teenagers, shorten the analysis and get to the task sooner. With adults in a work context, keep the forms exactly as they are and swap the lesson's theme for one from their own field.

Checking learning

5 out of 6 or better on Handout 2, Exercise B. In the survey, students form causative questions with correct word order. Each story includes at least one causative and one get passive used accurately.

Teacher's reflection

Did students stop confusing I had my hair cut and I had cut my hair? Was the get passive used naturally in the stories?

Handout 1: Kaveesha's Busy Saturday

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

My Saturday of Errands (and Disasters!)

Saturday was supposed to be easy. First, I had my hair cut at the salon on Galle Road. It looks great! Then I went to the optician to have my eyes tested, because I've been getting headaches. Good news: I don't need glasses.

Next, I took my laptop to the repair shop. The screen got broken last week when my little brother sat on it. They're going to get it fixed by Wednesday, but it'll cost me Rs. 15,000!

In the afternoon, I wanted to have some photos printed for my grandmother's birthday. But when I got to the bus stop, I realised I'd had my purse stolen. All my money and my bank card! I got soaked in the rain while I was walking to the police station, and then, when I got home, I found out that my evening flight to Jaffna had got cancelled.

Next Saturday, I'm staying in bed.

Answer the questions.

  • What did Kaveesha have done at the salon? ______________________________
  • Why did she have her eyes tested? ______________________________
  • What happened to her purse? ______________________________
  • What happened to her flight? ______________________________

Handout 2: Language Focus and Practice

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Language reference

A. Write sentences with have something done in the tense given.

B. Choose the correct form.

  • A mechanic is repairing my car. (present continuous) → I ______________________________
  • A photographer took our wedding photos. (past simple) → We ______________________________
  • Someone is going to paint our house. (going to) → We ______________________________
  • Someone broke into my uncle's house last night. (past simple) → My uncle ______________________________
  • I can't come. I am cutting my hair / am having my hair cut at 4 o'clock.
  • Where did you have your suit made / have made your suit?
  • He got fined / got fine for driving too fast.
  • I had repaired my phone / had my phone repaired last week. It works perfectly now.
  • You should get checked your teeth / get your teeth checked every six months.
  • Last night, my neighbour stole his car / had his car stolen from outside his house.
UseExample
A service (someone does it for you)I had my hair cut. I'm going to get my car washed.
A bad experienceShe had her purse stolen.
get passive (informal)The flight got cancelled. He got fined.
Remember the word orderhave / get + OBJECT + past participle

Handout 3: Further Practice

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Complete the sentences using have or get + object + past participle, or the get passive.

  • My watch has stopped. I need to ______________________________ (it / repair).
  • We ______________________________ (our kitchen / redecorate) at the moment, so we're eating out.
  • Have you ever ______________________________ (your palm / read)?
  • She ______________________________ (her passport / steal) when she was on holiday.
  • Be careful on that ladder! You'll ______________________________ (hurt).
  • They ______________________________ (lost) on the way to the hotel.
  • I'm going to ______________________________ (my eyes / test) next week.
  • He ______________________________ (promote) last month. Now he's the manager.

Handout 4: Survey and Story Cards

Part A: Survey. Ask your classmates. Ask one follow-up question each time.

Part B: Bad luck story cards (cut up)

Useful language: had my ... stolen · had my ... broken into · got soaked · got lost · got fined · got cancelled · got stuck · got hurt

QuestionNameFollow-up answer
When did you last have your hair cut?
Have you ever had your photo taken by a professional?
Have you ever had something stolen?
Have you ever got lost in a city?
Do you get your clothes made by a tailor?
Have you ever got caught doing something you shouldn't?
On holidayAt the airport
At a weddingOn the first day at a new school or job
During exam weekOn your birthday

Answer Key

Handout 1

Handout 2, Exercise A

Handout 2, Exercise B

Handout 3

Common errors to watch for

  • She had her hair cut. · 2. Because she has been getting headaches. · 3. It was stolen (she had her purse stolen). · 4. It got cancelled.
  • I'm having my car repaired. · 2. We had our wedding photos taken. · 3. We're going to have our house painted. · 4. My uncle had his house broken into last night.
  • am having my hair cut · 2. have your suit made · 3. got fined · 4. had my phone repaired · 5. get your teeth checked · 6. had his car stolen
  • have / get it repaired · 2. are having / getting our kitchen redecorated · 3. had your palm read · 4. had her passport stolen · 5. get hurt · 6. got lost · 7. have / get my eyes tested · 8. got promoted
ErrorCorrection
I cut my hair yesterday. (a hairdresser did it)I had my hair cut yesterday.
I had cut my hair. (meaning a service)I had my hair cut.
I need to get my car wash.I need to get my car washed.
Where did you have made your suit?Where did you have your suit made?

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About this lesson plan

Written by RCF English to the RCF English international standard: levelled by the CEFR, original throughout, and suitable for classrooms in any country. Last reviewed 22 September 2026.

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