A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

have someone do something • have someone doing
something
have someone do something —
1
. (also: get someone to do some-
thing ) cause a person to do smth.: Stupid me, I did not have
him sign any type of contract or promise to pay letter. 2. expe-
rience or suffer smth. done by another person: We had a beggar
come up to us and there was a man sleeping in the stair well.
We did not feel safe at all.
Note:
The expression is not antonymous in meaning to the
phrase one will not have someone do something— one will
not allow a person to do smth.: Tell him you understand that
he is unhappy but you will not have him speak to you that
way.
have someone doing something —
1
. cause a person to do smth.
as a result of one’s activity: If you play your radio on the beach,
you’ll have everyone complaining. 2. = have someone do some-
thing 2: I couldn’t bear to have them talking once the film had
begun, so I turned around and did my heroic best: asked them
to talk a little softly.
Note:
The expression is not antonymous in meaning to the
phrase one will not have someone doing something— one will
not allow a person to do smth.: And while I do not care much
what people think of me, I will not have them thinking badly
of you.
have someone in • have someone on
have someone in —
1
. invite a person into one’s home: We
had some friends in on Saturday night to watch the rugby and
stay for dinner. 2. arrange for builders, decorators, etc. to
come into one’s home to do some work: We had some problem
in the bathroom and we had a plumber in to fix a pipe.
have someone on —(coll.) mislead smb. deliberately; deceive
or swindle a person: She seemed a nice person; but for all I
knew she might be a brilliant actress and was just having me
on.