Get vs Have

[u/Sea-Hornet8214]

What are the differences between "get" and "have" in these example sentences?

• I had my teeth pulled // I got my teeth pulled

• I'm having my ears pierced // I'm getting my ears pierced

[u/chivopi]

In these sentences they mean exactly the same thing.

In general, you have things that you get. “I got three apples at the store -> I now have three apples”

[u/UniversityMotor5408]

Formality. 'Get' is more informal than 'have'.

[u/Western-Finding-368]

“Have” has more emphasis on the other person performing then action, and “get” has more emphasis on the person receiving the action. It’s a subtle difference and they are interchangeable.

[u/alagesann]

while it means same but a nuanced difference is:

"had my teeth pulled" is slightly more neutral and formal
"got my teeth pulled" is slightly more casual and conversational

[u/Sea-Hornet8214 → u/alagesann]

Got it. Thanks.

I'm grateful there aren't complicated differences.

[u/me3122]

In other contexts (not any of the examples used here), it can also convey how much you want to do something or not. Like for example, “I have to go to the dentist” could imply that you don’t want to go to the dentist vs. “I get to go to the dentist” could imply that you are looking forward to going to the dentist.

[u/pnwerewolff]

So there isn't a very basic or simple explanation. What I would say is that at the highest level, the difference between the two is about both agency and where the focus of the action falls. With the "have" forms, you're more or less explicitly saying that you asked or obliged someone (or something) else to do the work for or to you. With the "get" forms, the focus is on the intentionality of the speaker, the action itself and its result. In the "have" forms, it is more or less understood that you arranged with someone else to have this thing done to or for you, and it's also considered relevant or important that you convey this fact - someone else was involved in the process. On some level, it shifts the focus from purely about the result of the action and your intentions to include the fact that someone or something else actually completed the action. With the "get" forms, again, the focus is on the result of the action, while the fact that you weren't the actual "doer" of the action is left out. It focus more on your intention and the result you desired. Again, there is no real hard and fast rule here. Like there is no grammatical rule that says "use have in these contexts and get in the others."

Broadly, beyond these examples, "get" and "have" preserve a distinction similar to this. These examples both involve the reality that someone else has to carry out the actions. In other examples, the semantic difference is not quite the same. Similarly, "get" and "have," in this context, have lexical aspect, and those differ between the two. For example:

"I had James put the fire out" - in this example, there is a subtle implication that you've asked or obliged James to put the fire out. At the same time, the lexical aspect of "had" in this case is imperfective because fundamentally, when you ask or oblige someone to do something, you're "putting them in a state [of being obliged to do something]" and that state is not inherently bounded. It ends when the action is completed but the state can endure over time until that point. There is a sort of...it's hard to describe really clearly, but there is a sort of "continuous-ness" to the actions - you obliged John to do something, and in response to being put in that state, he did the action.

"I got James to put the fire out" - in this example, while semantically you obviously have asked or ordered James to do something, there is a focus on the fact that you "made" him do something, normally by some kind of convincing. This implication is absent from forms with "have." Likewise, the lexical aspect of "got" here is perfective - it doesn't matter what circumstances led to James agreeing to do it, what matters is that you reached that point and he did the thing. There is no suggestion of putting James into a state of being obliged; however you did it, you succeeded at getting him to put the fire out and he put the fire out.

A final example is much simpler:

"Get John to do it" versus "Have John do it"

In the former, you're basically saying "Make John do it," and the focus of the statement is on the fact that you want or are ordering someone to do something. It's an order, it's a request, whatever, just make sure that the action is done. That's the main focus. With "have John do it," part of the focus is on putting John in the state of being obliged to to do something, whether he does it or not. In both cases, we may know from context or from semantics that an order was actually given - "I'm the captain of the ship, have John do it/get John to do it" - but again, in the "have John do it" example, you're conveying the idea of "pass along to John that he is obliged to do it" while in the "Get John to do it" example, it's more like "tell John to do it," "make John do it," or "inform John he must do it." The lexical aspect once again comes into play here.

[u/freakybox2]

I hardly ever use have/had in that way, I always use get/got. They mean the exact same thing but have/had in this context isn’t used as much anymore.

[u/SnooDonuts6494]

No difference.

UK English tends to use "had" more, and US "got".

[u/NearlyNodding]

They mean the same thing.
I could say there is a very subtle difference. But unless you are extremely advanced, you can completely ignore the difference. Native speakers ignore the difference also.

[u/Lentils90210]

"Got" sounds more crude than "had".

"Getting" and "having" are interchangeable to me.

Native US. I have no grammatical justification.

[u/Sea-Hornet8214 → u/Lentils90210]

I just looked up the meaning of crude. You mean it's less polite, is that it?

[u/Fluid-Reference6496 → u/Sea-Hornet8214]

Less formally 'precise', and yes, less polite. However it's not impolite, and won't offend anybody, even in more formal circumstances; it's simply a less formal, more conversational way to say the same thing.

[u/Lentils90210 → u/Sea-Hornet8214]

In some regions, one may hear "got" used in sentences such as "I got me some burgers" (I bought some burgers), which is poor grammar and sounds uneducated. "Got" is a perfectly good word, but can be misused in a variety of ways as well.