Causative Verbs

Causative Verbs

Causative verbs

Causative structures indicate that one thing or person causes another thing or person to do something or be something.

Let

FORM

[S + let + person + verb]

USE

This construction means "to allow someone to do something."
Examples:

·       John lets me drive his new car.

·       Will your parents let you go to the party?

·       I don't know if my boss will let me take the day off.

·       George lets me borrow his books.

·       The boss lets his employees go home early.

·       Her brother let her play with his toy car.

·       John lets his daughter swim with her friends.

·       The teacher lets the students leave class early. 

·       The policeman lets the suspect make one phone call. 

·       Mrs. Binion lets her son spend the night with a friend. 

 

Make

FORM

[S + make + person + verb]

USE

This construction means "to force someone to do something."
Examples:

·       My teacher made me apologize for what I had said.

·       Did somebody make you wear that ugly hat?

·       She made her children do their homework.

·       Peter made her do her homework.

·       The teacher made the students stay after class.

·       The boss made his employees stay late.

·       Her brother made her cry because he embarrassed her in front of her friends.

·       He made the toy car drive through the maze.

 

Have

FORM

[S + have + person + verb]

USE

This construction means "to give someone the responsibility to do something."
Examples:

·       Dr. Smith had his nurse take the patient's temperature.

·       Please have your secretary fax me the information.

·       I had the mechanic check the brakes.

·       They had John arrive early.

·       She had her children cook dinner for her.

·       I had my hair cut last Saturday.

·       She had the car washed at the weekend.

·       The president had his advisors arrange a press conference.

·       The editor had the contributors attend a composition workshop.

 

Get

FORM

[S + get + person + to + verb]

USE

This construction usually means "to convince to do something" or "to trick someone into doing something."
Examples:

·       Susie got her son to take the medicine even though it tasted terrible.

·       How can parents get their children to read more?

·       The government TV commercials are trying to get people to stop smoking.

·       Morris got his dog to bring him the newspaper.

·       Mary got her husband to arrested.

·       The manager made the salesmen to attend the conference.

·       The teacher always makes the children to stay in their seats.

·       George made his son to be quiet in the theater. 

Other causative verbs

All the examples above use the causative verb “have”. However, many other verbs can be used in causatives. In the active form, som of these verbs require the action verb to have “to” before it. These are some examples of the most common causative verbs.

Verb	Meaning	Form of Action Verb	Examples
make	force, compel	plain form	The robbers made us lie on the floor. [No passive form]
get	same as "have"	"to" form	I got Jae Won to pick me up in the car. She got her hair cut.
let	allow	plain form	I'll let you borrow my bike. [No passive form]