“The documents must be checked” focuses on the documents and the necessary action. “I had the documents checked” adds another idea: I arranged for someone else to check them.
What's your English level?
Take the test and get your certificate!
Both sentences give attention to the thing affected, but they use different structures. This guide separates modal passives from causatives so that you can choose the form that matches your meaning.
A quick passive reminder
A standard passive uses a form of be + past participle. The object of a corresponding active sentence becomes the passive subject: “A technician repaired the printer” becomes “The printer was repaired.”
Mention the person or organisation with by when it matters. “The proposal was approved by the board” identifies an important decision-maker; “The windows were cleaned” may need no agent at all.
Modal passives: modal + be + past participle
The modal expresses possibility, necessity, permission, or advice. The passive structure then focuses on the person or thing receiving the action.
| Meaning | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Requirement | Staff must lock the door. | The door must be locked. |
| Possibility | We could postpone the meeting. | The meeting could be postponed. |
| Advice | You should check the figures. | The figures should be checked. |
| Permission | Visitors may use this entrance. | This entrance may be used by visitors. |
Keep the base form be after the modal. Write “It can be repaired,” not “It can is repaired” or “It can repaired.” For a negative, put not after the modal: “The file must not be shared.”
Modal perfect passives: looking back
Use modal + have been + past participle to comment on an earlier action. The modal still contributes its own meaning, so these forms are not interchangeable.
| Sentence | Likely meaning in context |
|---|---|
| The invoice must have been sent yesterday. | The speaker strongly concludes that it was sent. |
| The invoice might have been sent yesterday. | Sending it yesterday is one possibility. |
| The invoice should have been sent yesterday. | Sending it was expected or advisable; context often suggests it was not. |
| The invoice could have been sent electronically. | That method was possible; context determines whether it was used. |
“Must have been sent” expresses a conclusion about the past, not a past obligation. To describe the obligation itself, use “The invoice had to be sent yesterday.”
Causatives: arranging or causing an action
A causative sentence describes someone causing, requesting, persuading, or arranging for an action. The grammar depends on the causative verb and on whether the next noun names the person acting or the thing affected.
| Pattern | Example | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| have + person + base verb | I had the technician check the printer. | I instructed or arranged for the technician to act. |
| get + person + to-infinitive | I got the technician to check the printer. | I persuaded or managed to arrange for the person to act. |
| make + person + base verb | The manager made us rewrite the report. | The manager required or compelled the action. |
| have/get + thing + past participle | I had the printer checked. | I arranged the service; the worker is not named. |
Do not put get into the same pattern as make and have. “I got her to explain the process” needs to, while “I had her explain the process” does not.
Have something done does not mean do it yourself
“I repaired my phone” normally means I did the repair. “I had my phone repaired” normally means someone else repaired it for me.
The same structure can describe an unwanted experience: “She had her bag stolen.” This does not mean she arranged the theft. Read the action and context before assuming that every have + object + participle describes a service.
A passive form of make
The active causative is “They made him apologise.” Its passive is “He was made to apologise,” with to before the infinitive.
This change is easy to miss if you memorise only the active pattern. Compare the whole pair, including the additional to in the passive version.
Choosing a form in context
Assistant: Have you checked the contract?
Manager: I’ve had it checked by our adviser.
Assistant: Can it be signed today?
Manager: Not yet. One clause should be changed first.
The manager has arranged a service, the assistant asks whether an action is possible, and the final sentence recommends another action. The forms do different jobs within the same conversation.
Practice: complete and transform
Use the structure that preserves the meaning. In transformations, you can omit an unimportant agent, but retain a person or organisation if that information matters.
- Complete: “This equipment must _____ regularly.” (inspect)
- Rewrite “Someone might have deleted the file,” beginning “The file…”
- Correct: “I got my colleague check the totals.”
- Rewrite “A mechanic serviced my car for me,” beginning “I had…”
- Make passive: “They made us repeat the task.”
- Which expresses past obligation: “It must have been delivered” or “It had to be delivered”?
- Complete: “We should _____ about the cancellation before travelling.” Use tell in a modal perfect passive.
- Explain the difference between “I cut my hair” and “I had my hair cut.”
Answers and explanations
- Be inspected. Must is followed by be + past participle.
- The file might have been deleted. Might have been introduces a possible earlier action.
- I got my colleague to check the totals. Get + person requires a to-infinitive here.
- I had my car serviced. This describes an arranged service.
- We were made to repeat the task. The passive causative uses to repeat.
- It had to be delivered. Must have been delivered normally expresses a conclusion.
- Have been told. “We should have been told” refers to an expected earlier notification.
- The first normally describes doing the cutting yourself; the second describes someone else doing it for you. Context can add detail, but this is the central contrast.
What's your English level?
Take the test and get your certificate!
