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Causative Verbs

October 31, 2013

I had my students learn these patterns…

Causative verbs are just what they sound like: verbs where one person is “causing” another to do something. English has three true causative verbs: have, let, and make.

This grammar target has a special pattern that often confuses students because it requires a base verb where an infinitive verb would normally go. Once we present the pattern to our students and they see some examples, they should be able to remember to use the base form.

It’s also important to point out the other verbs with a similar meaning that are not, in fact, causative verbs. Verbs such as get, force, allow, and cause take an infinitive verb, not a base verb.

Causative Verbs resource

Causative Verbs: Have, Let, Make – Grammar & Usage Resources

I. Causative Verbs

Have, Let & Make

Subject (person) + Have / Let / Make + Object (person) + Base Verb

The verbs have, let, and make follow this irregular pattern when they have the meaning of causing someone to do something. These verbs are pretty common in English and are usually introduced around an intermediate level. From strongest to weakest, the causative verbs are make, have, and let.

It’s important to give examples with both singular and plural objects as well as different tenses so that students truly understand that a base verb is required, not just a present verb. I find the biggest mistakes textbooks make is that they only give examples in the present tense. I’ve often had students tell me that they didn’t “get it” until they saw an example in the past tense.

  • I had my friends tell me what happened. (not told)
  • She will let her friend borrow her new jacket. (not borrows or will borrow)
  • Mark’s teacher makes him do homework every day. (not does)

The subject and object of causative sentences are usually people, but things are also possible.

  • The heavy rain made the paint peel off the building.
  • The phone message made him feel nervous.
  • We let the dogs run wild at the beach.

Also, the imperative verb form (no subject) is common with causative verbs, since both causatives and imperatives are used for giving orders.

  • Have Mr. Smith call me.
  • Let the dogs go outside after dinner.
  • Make her secretary type out the report.

II. Non-Causative Verbs

Get, Force, Allow & Cause

Subject + Get / Force / Allow / Cause + Object (person) + Infinitive Verb

All other verbs, outside of the three causative verbs, will follow the “normal” pattern of noun + infinitive. This pattern occurs for most verbs regardless of meaning (e.g., My friend wants me to come to the party or She asked me to help her).

There are other verbs that have the meaning of cause, but because they aren’t true causative verbs, they take an infinitive verb form instead of a base verb. Common verbs are, from strongest to weakest: force, cause, get, and allow.

Get, especially, is very common, so make sure you remind your students that it always takes an infinitive verb, and give your students plenty of examples.

  • He got his friend to help him move.
  • My mother forces me to practice the piano every day.
  • Our teacher is going to allow us to go home early today.
  • The test is causing them to panic. It’s really difficult.

III. The Passive Causative

Get & Have

Subject (person) + Have / Get + Object (thing) + Past Participle

Can causative sentences be passive? Yes! The passive causative is quite common for services. For more information, see our blog post on the Passive Causative.

  • He had his car fixed (by a mechanic).
  • She got her hair cut yesterday.
  • My sister got her nails done.

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Comments (62)

Regina Thomas(Guest)

Hi! Thanks for posting about causative verbs. This explains clearly how to use them. I'm teaching grammar and I've been searching google about causative verbs. I've bookmarked this site.

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Thanks for your comment, Regina! Happy to hear that you found this post useful.

Scott (Guest)

Hi I am a bit confused looking at different websites on causative verbs.

Can you explain to me why we would say:
I had my house painted. Why is the verb in past rather than the base form?

Thanks

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Great question, Scott.

'I had my house painted' is an example of the Passive Causative. It's a combination of a Causative sentence (the verb Have, and the meaning of making someone do something) and the Passive (by someone). You are saying 'I had my house painted by someone.'

The pattern for the Passive Causative is: have or get + object (thing) + past participle (+ by someone, which is usually dropped).

So 'painted' in this case isn't the past---it's the past participle. Other examples are 'I got my hair cut' or 'I had the letter written by my secretary.'

I plan to do a full blog post on this soon, but I hope this helped for now! :)

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Scott, here's the link for the new Passive Causative post: http://www.esl-library.com/blog/2014/02/20/the-passive-causative/.

Charlie (Guest)

Hello,I would like to ask there is one causative mistake here in this question.how to change it to be right

Has Betty come and see me in the office,please.

Big thx!!

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Hi Charlie,

The correct sentence is:

Have Betty come and see me in the office, please.

This is a causative sentence (with 'have' as the causative verb). 'Have' is in the imperative form, which is used when giving an order/command/instruction. The subject of the imperative form (which gets dropped/omitted) is always 'you', which is why the verb is 'have', not 'has'. The meaning is this: I'm instructing you to make Betty come to my office. I.e., I'm giving you an order (imperative form of 'have') for you to cause Betty come and see me (causative verb 'have' + base verbs 'come' and 'see').

Hope that helps! :)

Charlie (Guest)

Hello Miss Tanya!!im very appreciate that you sent time on my question !you are better than any teachers in my schools that solved my problem in detail !i also have some questions this time and I have already sent to your email ,can we contact from email?thank you!

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

You're welcome, Charlie! I'm glad I could help. Thank you for your kind words!

Charlie (Guest)

Miss Tanya,I sent to your email once again ,thank you!

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

I emailed you back! Good luck.

Silvio (Guest)

Hello Tanya, is it correct to say: 'I had him not buy sugar.' Thank you in advance.

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler(Author)

Hi Silvio,

It sounds strange to use 'not' before 'buy'. Usually we would use it before the causative verb: 'I didn't have him buy sugar.' (In this case, you were going to have him buy sugar, but changed your mind.) I think that 'not' will always sound better before the causative verb (and will always be correct). It usually won't be correct before the second verb, though I suppose there may be exceptions when you really want to emphasize not doing the second verb.

Silvio (Guest)

Tanya, thank you very much for your precious answer. You got it. I had him buy something at the grocery, but I asked him not to buy sugar, because we were plenty of it. So I didn't have him do something, but I had him not do something. How does it sound? Thanks again. Have a good day.

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    Nikita (Guest)

    Hi, thank you for such an informative piece. Could you tell me that which part of speech will the base verb (infinitive without 'to') be? Will it be a noun, adjective, or adverb?
    'He made the fear go away.'
    Thank you

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Nikita,

    Good question. This is something that I've never thought of before! I would say that the base verb still functions as a verb in that position. It's not the main verb, but it doesn't take on another function the way a gerund or infinitive would (noun function). If we look at another example, it becomes clearer:

    • He made her do her homework. ('Do' isn't an object of 'made.' It is the verb/action of 'her' in a sense: 'She did her homework.')

    Another case like this is with an adjective or adverb phrase. Within the phrase, the participle still functions as a verb.

    • After she called [verb of adverb clause] me, she went [main verb] to sleep.
    • After calling [verb of adverb phrase, reduced to a participle] me, she went [main verb] to sleep.

    In those examples above, though, the infinitive 'to sleep' functions as a noun (it's the object of the verb 'went').

    Hope that helps!

    Sarah (Guest)

    Hi!
    Thanks a lot for such great information !!!
    Im an English learner from Iran and this web was really useful !
    thanks again !

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    That's great to hear, Sarah! Best of luck with your English studies.

    achmad (Guest)

    'Common verbs are, from strongest to weakest: force, cause, get, and allow.'
    the force was the most non-Causative verb. was that what you mean at the sentece above?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Achmad,

    You got it! Force, cause, get, and allow aren't true causative verbs. Force has the strongest meaning—it is often used when you're making someone do something against their will (that they don't want to do). Allow has the weakest meaning because in that case, someone usually wants to do something.

    achmad (Guest)

    thank ya

    achmad (Guest)

    have u written an article when to use 'up' for pharasal verb ?

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi again,

    I've written this post on phrasal verbs in general: https://blog.ellii.com/2013/08/08/how-do-you-teach-phrasal-verbs/

    There are also a lot of phrasal verbs included in our English Serials sections (Everyday Idioms & Detective Series): https://ellii.com/courses

    achmad (Guest)

    thanks for your kindness

    Kash (Guest)

    Mam,

    Could you please define the tenses of causative verb; I mean, how many tenses are possible? Can you please explain them as below for all the four “HAVE, GET, MAKE and LET”?

    Present indefinite
    Present continuous
    Present perfect
    Present perfect continuous

    Past indefinite
    Past continuous
    Past perfect
    Past perfect continuous

    Future indefinite
    Future continuous
    Future perfect
    Future perfect continuous

    Thanks

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Kash,

    Almost any tense is possible as long as it makes sense. First of all, don't forget that 'get' is not a true causative verb (the second verb will be an infinitive instead of a base verb—compare 'I had my students study' with 'I got my students to study'). Here are some examples of natural-sounding causative verbs in various tenses:

    Simple present: She makes her students study every day.
    Present continuous: She is making her students study now.
    Present perfect: She has made her students study many times.
    Present perfect continuous: She has been making her students study for months.

    Simple past: She made her students study yesterday.
    Past continuous: She was making her students take a test when the fire drill started.
    Past perfect: She had made her students take a test before she allowed them to go home.
    Past perfect continuous: She had been making her students take a test when the fire drill started.

    Simple future: She will make her students take a test tomorrow.
    Future continuous: She will be making her students take a test when the fire drills starts.
    Future perfect: She will have made her students take a test before she allows them to go home.
    Future perfect continuous: not natural

    Hope that helps!

    Kash (Guest)

    thanks a lot! It helped me a lot. I just want to be more clear by discussing some other verb tenses possibilities, as I have a grave confusion when exercising over verbs with their tenses.
    Let's take 'HAVE FOR POSSESSION' in all above 12 Tenses with their passive form ...????

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Kash, the conjugation of the 12 tenses for the possessive meaning of 'have' is the same as the causative meaning of 'have.' The verb tenses don't change, only the meaning changes. So the conjugation of 'make,' above, will be the same for the possessive 'have' (e.g., I have, I had, I will have, etc.). The passive form is really not common when 'have' means possession. For example, 'I have a dog' is correct in the active voice, but 'A dog is had by me' is incorrect in the passive.

    mahmud (Guest)

    Madam,
    Thanks a lot for your wonderful explanations on various points of English grammar.
    Here you are saying that the causative verbs are only three: have, let and make. But there are several websites that give five causative verbs like have, let, make, get and help. Here is a link to one of such sites: https://www.espressoenglish.net/causative-verbs-in-english-let-make-have-get-help/

    I would like to have your opinion. Thanks.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Mahmud,

    You'll see in point II above that there are plenty of other English verbs with the meaning of causing someone to do something. Some textbooks lump them together, but this can be confusing for students. Be aware that only have, let, and make are the true causative verbs because they are the only ones that take a base verb. The others take an infinitive verb (the usual case—any second 'object' verb in English will be a gerund or an infinitive). These verbs include get, force, allow, and cause.

    'Help' is a tricky verb, so I didn't include it in this post. Help doesn't mean that you caused someone to do something, but it does mean you aided someone who was doing something. The tricky thing about 'help' is that is takes an infinitive verb, but the 'to' is usually dropped (this happens in a few cases with verbs that are very common).

    E.g., 'I helped my friend (to) write her report.'

    Just be aware that 'help' isn't a true causative verb. It doesn't really have a 'cause' meaning, but more importantly, it isn't a base verb. Instead, it is an infinitive verb where the 'to' is usually dropped. Have, let, and make can't ever take an infinitive in the causative sense.

    Hope that helps!

    vishal (Guest)

    Hi can you explain when and why gerund infinitive and participles used and also difference between them

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Vishal, you'll find the answers in my previous posts:
    Gerunds & Infinitives: https://blog.ellii.com/2013/02/21/gerunds-and-infinitives-helpful-teaching-tips/
    Participial Adjectives: https://blog.ellii.com/2012/08/16/how-to-teach-ed-ing-adjectives-9-simple-steps/

    If you're a subscriber, you will find more examples and practice exercises in the following lessons and resources:
    Gerunds & Infinitives: https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2256 and https://ellii.com/resources/2261
    Adjectives: https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2093

    Hope that helps!

    Suneel Baghel(Guest)

    Like humans zoo animals must have a dentist.... Their teeth
    1-fill. 2-filled 3-filling. 4-to be filled
    Ans filling is given but how
    My ans is fill.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Suneel, 'fill' is the best answer here. Maybe there is a mistake in your answer key.

    Hanumanth (Guest)

    Can you provide all causative verb examples of all tenses for negative and question sentences

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Hanumanth, forming questions with causative verbs in each tense is the same as other verbs. For example, 'DOES the manager make the employees stay late every day?' (simple present) or 'DID the manager make the employees stay late yesterday?' (simple past). For a list of how to form each verb tense, go to this index: https://blog.ellii.com/2017/02/28/grammar-day-roundup-2017/

    You can also scroll down to my reply to Kash's comment from June 6, 2017 for a list of causative verbs in the 12 tenses.

    We also have a resource showing how to form questions: https://ellii.com/resources/2462

    Negative sentences with causative verbs are also formed the same way as other verbs. For example:

    • The manager didn't let the employees go home early yesterday.
    • The manager hasn't let the employees go home early all year.

    meet (Guest)

    Hi ma'am can u give me causitive verb's usage in all forms of tense......

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Sure. Please scroll down to Kash's comment from June 4, 2017, and my response from June 6. I give examples using causative verbs in all tenses.

    meet (Guest)

    Yes ma'am,I have taken a look on those examples.but I just want to know that how will the verb (have) will work in those sentences? Can u plzz give me some examples using the causitive verb have? (present,past,and future perfect tense....

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi again,
    No problem. Here are the examples with 'have' (note that 'have' doesn't sound very natural in the continuous tenses):

    Simple present: She has her students study every day.
    Present continuous: She is having her students study now.
    Present perfect: She has had her students study many times.
    Present perfect continuous: She has been having her students study for months. (not very natural)

    Simple past: She had her students study yesterday.
    Past continuous: She was having her students take a test when the fire drill started.
    Past perfect: She had had her students take a test before she allowed them to go home.
    Past perfect continuous: not natural

    Simple future: She will have her students take a test tomorrow.
    Future continuous: She will be having her students take a test when the fire drills starts. (not very natural)
    Future perfect: She will have had her students take a test before she allows them to go home.
    Future perfect continuous: not natural

    meet (Guest)

    Yes,got it....thanks a lot for your examples.... :) :) I m loving to learn from u.....my English skill is not good so I'm just trying to enhance it....thanks again...

    Riya (Guest)

    Ma'am how to make causative interrogative with wh' words

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Riya,

    You can form a causative Wh- question by using the auxiliary do or did with the causative verb have, let, or make. The pattern will usually be: Wh- + Aux + S + causative V + O + base V

    Examples:
    Why did the manager have the employee stay late last night?
    What do you make your kids do after school?
    When do you let your students have free time?

    Aldo (Guest)

    Hi, madam
    I wanna ask about when we use bare infinitive,to infinitive, past participle on causative?? and what characteristic of sentece we allow to use kind of them???
    Thanks for helping

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Aldo,

    As this post explains, we use the bare infinitive (without 'to') with the 'true' causative verbs have, let, and make. We use the infinitive with other verbs that mean 'cause' such as get, force, allow, and cause. We use the past participle with the passive causative (which focuses on the object—see above) and uses the verbs have or get.

    The best way to keep them all straight is to familiarize yourself with the sentence patterns for those three cases. See the post above for patterns and examples.

    Molly (Guest)

    Hi Tanya,

    Very nice to see such clear explanations regarding the causative. I agre that books often overwhelm students, and those teaching this grammar, by lumping causative verbs and pseudo causative verbs, like get, together. However, I was wondering about your thoughts on usage here, as there seems to be a bit of a difference between USA and British use. I am British and we often use get to talk about asking favours and instructions, especially with friends; “I got Bob to fix the TV’ whereas my American friends would use had. I think this sounds a bit severe. What are your thoughts on use here? To me have is more formal in the UK. What do you think?

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Molly,

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on usage and the differences between American and British English. I'm Canadian, and I think I speak for American speakers as well when I say that 'get' is more common than 'have' in informal usage. 'Have' is a bit more formal for us too (though maybe not as formal as it sounds like it is in the UK). If I were speaking to a friend, I'd say 'I got Bob to fix the TV.'

    Liljana B.(Teacher)

    Hello Tanya,

    My question is related to the verb 'force'.

    With verb patterns, 'force' belongs to the pattern:
    verb + object + infinitive, as per my text book.

    'I forced him to watch the movie.'

    But we can also say:
    'I was forced to watch the movie', i.e. the verb pattern:
    verb + to- infinitive.

    Could you please explain?

    Thank you!

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Lilly,

    Because 'forced' is a regular verb (not a causative verb), it follows normal English sentence patterns.

    1) Active sentence = I (S) forced (V) him (O) to watch the movie.
    After a noun object (him), it is common to have an infinitive verb (to watch). Infinitive verbs can also take objects (the movie).

    2) Passive sentence = I (S) was forced (passive verb = be + past participle) to watch the movie (by him).
    In this case, the active version of this sentence is: He (S) forced (V) me (O) to watch the movie. The subject and object switch positions, and in passive sentences we often drop the former subject (by him). After any verb, we can use an infinitive (to + V) or a gerund (-ing V). The verb force takes an infinitive (to watch) and infinitives can take objects (the movie).

    Hope that helps!

    Andrey (Guest)

    Thank you, that was extremely helpful.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    I'm happy to hear that, Andrey! Thanks for your comment.

    Ram B.(Member)

    Dear Sir or Madam,
    I have a question about a sentence below. I was watching an English serial yesterday. A mom said to her daughter

    "I can not have you going anywhere."

    1. Is this sentence grammatically correct? What does it mean?

    2. Is it causative verb sentence?

    Thank you in advance.
    RB

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Ram,

    Yes, this sentence is grammatically correct. In negative sentences, "cannot/can't" has two meanings. The most common meaning is a modal of ability (I can't ski) which the meaning is "not able to do something," but another common meaning is a modal of necessity (You can't enter this building without permission). In this second sense (and in the TV show you were watching), the meaning is "must not." See this post for more examples (scroll down to the "Must" section): https://ellii.com/blog/suggestions-with-modals-of-advice-and-necessity-2

    Thatin A.(Student)

    Thanks you very much for posting this Causative and Passive causative , very useful for me

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Thatin, I'm happy these posts were helpful for you! Thanks for leaving a comment.

    Tia Louise R.(Teacher)

    Regarding causative verbs, why do various sources include other verbs as causative? Why does ESL Library claim that there are only these three "true" causative verbs? Thank you.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Tia, great question. I believe other sources are referring to verbs such as get, force, allow, and cause. These verbs have a similar meaning to have, let, and make (i.e., they can all be used to mean "to cause someone to do something" with varying degrees of strength) so textbooks often discuss these verbs along with the "true" causative verbs. The problem is that those verbs don't follow the causative pattern. Instead, they follow the "normal" pattern of main verb + object + infinitive verb (to + V), so there's nothing really different or difficult about learning them. I provided some more information and examples in the second part of this blog post (see II. Non-Causative Verbs). Let me know if this doesn't answer your question (and let me know which verbs you're asking about if it's not the ones I just mentioned).

    Masud Rana(Guest)

    Thanks for presenting with lucid words.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    It's my pleasure, Masud. Thanks for commenting!

    Dhoni S.(Member)

    I am trying to find something or someone that will corroborate your definitions of 'true' and'semi'-causative verbs.

    Reply to Comment

    Dhoni S.(Member)

    Your explanation seems plausible in that it aligns with what modal verbs are vs. the other semi-modal verbs, such as 'ought to' and 'need to', etc.

    But this is what I have been able to find out wherever I go or whomever I ask about cuasitive verbs.

    Core true causative verbs: These verbs directly express causation with minimal ambiguity and typically involve stronger control or influence over the causee's action. Examples include make, force, compel, persuade, induce, convince, drive, lead, push, pull, drag, carry, send, bring, etc.
    These verbs have some flexibility in their verb phrase options, but it's more accurate to say they primarily prefer base verbs:
    The teacher made us do homework. (Base verb)
    They forced the children to stay inside. (Infinitive)
    Infinitives with these verbs are often used in formal contexts or specific tenses, but the base verb remains the more common choice.
    Verbs with causative tendencies: These verbs can suggest or imply causation through context or their meaning, but the degree of control or influence is often weaker compared to core true causatives. Examples include get, allow, permit, let, cause, ask, tell, request, advise, suggest, recommend, encourage, dare, etc.
    These verbs typically prefer infinitives:
    My parents let me go to the party.
    The doctor advised him to quit smoking.
    While some of these verbs may occasionally be used with a base verb for specific meanings or contexts, infinitives are the default and more standard choice.

    Therefore, it's crucial to distinguish between core true causative verbs, which have a preference for base verbs but some flexibility, and verbs with causative tendencies, which primarily use infinitives.

    Reply to Comment

    Tanya Trusler(Author)

    Hi Dhoni, all the textbooks I've ever taught with grouped "make," "have," and "let" together as causative verbs so that students can easily remember which verbs use the pattern with the base verb. In the post, I wrote above that the meaning of causative and non-causative verbs goes from strongest to weakest, because, for example, "let" and "allow" are much weaker in meaning than "make" or "force."

    I can't agree with this point "Infinitives with these verbs are often used in formal contexts or specific tenses, but the base verb remains the more common choice" following your examples with "make" and "force," because your examples would not be correct with another form (i.e., we can't say "The teacher made us to do the homework" or "They forced the children stay inside"). However, I do agree it's important to teach students that there is a difference in the meanings within the causative and non-causative verb lists (which is why I mentioned the degree strength of the verbs in the post). It might be useful to define every one of these verbs if your students didn't know the exact meaning and usage.

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