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Most of the time a sentence that looks like this is used, it means the same thing as:

I will finish it by tomorrow.

For instance: imagine your teacher asks when you are going to turn in an essay. If you say "I will have it done by tomorrow.", he will not think you are hiring someone else to do your homework!

This is a bit strange. Because usually when you speak about "having something done", you mean someone else will doing it for you. For some reason, "I will have it done by (time)" came to mean "I will finish it by (time)" anyway.

The phrasing may have developed from wanting to emphasize "one way or another, it will be finished--no matter what it takes!" to an authority; and that the authority doesn't need to worry about how you accomplish it.

Still, in certain contexts it actually does mean:

It will be done--by someone who is not me--and I will ensure this happens before tomorrow.

For instance:

• "I told you to hire some workers to come in here and fix the hole in the wall. When is that going to happen?"

• "I will have it done by tomorrow."

So you have to look at context to know what the meaning is supposed to be.

Notice that if you say "I will have it done by April" that could either mean you will be doing it by the month of April, or you will be hiring someone named April to do it. :-)

Most of the time a sentence that looks like this is used, it means the same thing as:

I will finish it by tomorrow.

For instance: imagine your teacher asks when you are going to turn in an essay. If you say "I will have it done by tomorrow.", he will not think you are hiring someone else to do your homework!

This is a bit strange. Because usually when you speak about "having something done", you mean someone else will be doing it at your direction. For some reason, "I will have it done by (time)" came to mean "I will finish it by (time)" anyway.

It may have originally developed from wanting to emphasize "one way or another, it will be finished--no matter what it takes!" Not identifying who will be doing something makes things sound otherworldly and firm, think of: "It will be done." So perhaps wanting to sound firm is why it's the response to being asked about something you alone are responsible for (like homework).

Still, in certain contexts it actually does mean:

It will be done--by someone who is not me--and I will ensure this happens before tomorrow.

For instance:

• "I told you to hire some workers to come in here and fix the hole in the wall. When is that going to happen?"

• "I will have it done by tomorrow."

So you have to look at context to know what the meaning is supposed to be.

Notice that if you say "I will have it done by April" that could either mean you will be doing it by the month of April, or you will be hiring someone named April to do it. :-)

It is indeed possible that it could be passive, in the sense of not identifying the person-who-is-doing.

For instance:

• "Weren't you going to call those guys to come in here and paint? When will that get finished?"

• "I will have it done by tomorrow."

In that context, "have it done" would carry the meaning of "have them do it" (the painting). It's answering the question about when it will be finished, and not when the phone call will be be made. So:

It will be done--by someone (who is not necessarily me)--and I will ensure this happens before tomorrow.

Yet that's the rarer case. Most of the time when someone says "I will have it done by tomorrow," it means the speaker is going to do it. Same meaning as:

I will finish it by tomorrow.

This is admittedly a bit strange. Many other phrasings of a person "having something done" does suggest they aren't the ones doing it. It's an odd case of where "I will have it done by (time)" probably means you are doing it. Then "I will have it done by (person)" means that person is doing it.

So if your teacher asks when you were going to turn in an essay, and you said "I will have it done by tomorrow.", this would not be interpreted that you will be sub-contracting out your homework! And if you say "I will have it done by April" that could either mean you will be doing it by the month of April, or you will be hiring someone named April to do it. :-)

The phrasing may have developed from wanting to emphasize "one way or another, it will be finished--no matter what it takes!" to an authority; and that the authority doesn't need to worry about how you accomplish it.

Most of the time a sentence that looks like this is used, it means the same thing as:

I will finish it by tomorrow.

For instance: imagine your teacher asks when you are going to turn in an essay. If you say "I will have it done by tomorrow.", he will not think you are hiring someone else to do your homework!

This is a bit strange. Because usually when you speak about "having something done", you mean someone else will doing it for you. For some reason, "I will have it done by (time)" came to mean "I will finish it by (time)" anyway.

The phrasing may have developed from wanting to emphasize "one way or another, it will be finished--no matter what it takes!" to an authority; and that the authority doesn't need to worry about how you accomplish it.

Still, in certain contexts it actually does mean:

It will be done--by someone who is not me--and I will ensure this happens before tomorrow.

For instance:

• "I told you to hire some workers to come in here and fix the hole in the wall. When is that going to happen?"

• "I will have it done by tomorrow."

So you have to look at context to know what the meaning is supposed to be.

Notice that if you say "I will have it done by April" that could either mean you will be doing it by the month of April, or you will be hiring someone named April to do it. :-)

It is indeed possible that it could be passive, in the sense of not identifying the person-who-is-doing.

For instance:

• "Weren't you going to call those guys to come in here and paint? When will that get finished?"

• "I will have it done by tomorrow."

In that context, "have it done" would carry the meaning of "have them do it" (the painting). It's answering the question about when it will be finished, and not when the phone call will be be made. So:

It will be done--by someone (who is not necessarily me)--and I will ensure this happens before tomorrow.

Yet that's the rarer case. Most of the time when someone says "I will have it done by tomorrow," it means the speaker is going to do it. Same meaning as:

I will finish it by tomorrow.

This is admittedly a bit strange. Many other phrasings of a person "having something done" does suggest they aren't the ones doing it. It's an odd case of where "I will have it done by..." probably means you are doing it.

The phrasing may have developed from wanting to emphasize "one way or another, it will be finished--no matter what it takes!" to an authority; and that the authority doesn't need to worry about how you accomplish it.

It is indeed possible that it could be passive, in the sense of not identifying the person-who-is-doing.

For instance:

• "Weren't you going to call those guys to come in here and paint? When will that get finished?"

• "I will have it done by tomorrow."

In that context, "have it done" would carry the meaning of "have them do it" (the painting). It's answering the question about when it will be finished, and not when the phone call will be be made. So:

It will be done--by someone (who is not necessarily me)--and I will ensure this happens before tomorrow.

Yet that's the rarer case. Most of the time when someone says "I will have it done by tomorrow," it means the speaker is going to do it. Same meaning as:

I will finish it by tomorrow.

This is admittedly a bit strange. Many other phrasings of a person "having something done" does suggest they aren't the ones doing it. It's an odd case of where "I will have it done by (time)" probably means you are doing it. Then "I will have it done by (person)" means that person is doing it.

So if your teacher asks when you were going to turn in an essay, and you said "I will have it done by tomorrow.", this would not be interpreted that you will be sub-contracting out your homework! And if you say "I will have it done by April" that could either mean you will be doing it by the month of April, or you will be hiring someone named April to do it. :-)

The phrasing may have developed from wanting to emphasize "one way or another, it will be finished--no matter what it takes!" to an authority; and that the authority doesn't need to worry about how you accomplish it.