How to express that something was done not by me, but for/to me?

Question

a. I have Windows installed

b. I have my hair cut

The only solution I found was the verb lassen. Still remains unclear how to use it, how to translate in an appropriate way.

And also very important: Are there any other solutions besides that with the word lassen?

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 22 '14 at 22:50

9

It is also possible to use "Rezipientenpassiv" (bekommen + Partizip Perfekt):

Ich bekomme Windows installiert
Ich bekomme die Haare geschnitten

answered Sep 22 '14 at 22:50

Veredomon

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Would you really ever say it that way? – Howard Pautz Sep 23 '14 at 02:38
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Absolutely. Morgen bekomme ich die neuen Möbel geliefert is a perfect example. – Ingmar Sep 23 '14 at 05:04
Well, the first sentence does sound a bit odd, but it's not wrong per se. – Sep 23 '14 at 09:12
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We had it here a few days back in another example: https://german.stackexchange.com/questions/15754/structure-of-er-bekommt-die-frage-gestellt – Veredomon Sep 23 '14 at 11:45

score 8 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 17 '20 at 08:52

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"Ich lasse mir Windows installieren"

"Ich lasse mir die Haare schneiden"

This is what I would normally say.

Somewhat more formal, and probably rarely used in spoken German :

"Mir wird Windows installiert"

"Mir werden die Haare geschnitten ".

The latter option (i.e. the passive construction) has a slightly different connotation - while the first option implies that you actually wanted someone to cut your hair/ install Windows, the latter is neutral in this respect.

edited Jun 17 '20 at 08:52

Community

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answered Sep 22 '14 at 21:58

Gerhard

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Thank you so much, @Gerhard! Perfect and comprehensive answer! Helped a lot! – Alex Herman Sep 22 '14 at 21:59
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@gerhard Shouldn't it be "ich habe ... installieren gelassen"/"ich habe ... schneiden gelassen"? – persson Sep 22 '14 at 22:32
@karoshi: the only thing I can say: sounds wrong to me - but I cannot give you a grammatical explanation, unfortunately. I probably wouldn't even notice if someone else said this, but I would never say so myself... – Gerhard Sep 22 '14 at 22:45
@karoshi: No, I'm afraid it's ich habe + inf. + lassen. – Ingmar Sep 23 '14 at 05:03
@Ingmar Interesting. Then if one wanted to use the present perfect would it be "Ich habe ... lassen gehabt"? – persson Sep 23 '14 at 09:03
@karoshi No, it would be "Ich hatte ... lassen" – arne Sep 23 '14 at 12:26
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@karoshi: Gerhard's solution is in the "perfect" form. A "present perfect" does not exist in the German language. – Marc Sep 23 '14 at 12:32
@arne: That would be "past perfect" / Plusquamperfekt, wouldn't it? – Marc Sep 23 '14 at 12:34
@MarcMosby Yeah, sorry, my bad. Didn't read carefully enough. – arne Sep 23 '14 at 13:13
@karoshi yes, i think "gelassen" is gramatically correct, as long as we're dealing with "Perfect". – Alex Herman Sep 23 '14 at 13:50
@a-herrmann I found a thread that explains why "gelassen" is plain wrong: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=106191&langid=3 – Marc Sep 24 '14 at 07:36
@MarcMosby Of course, the double infinitive! I should have known it. Thanks. – persson Sep 25 '14 at 09:15
Why present perfect? The English sentences in the question use present tense. – Carsten S Sep 26 '14 at 07:04
@Carsten: you are correct, of course. I edited mt answer to match the original English sentence. – Gerhard Sep 26 '14 at 10:17

How to express that something was done not by me, but for/to me?

2 Answers2