Causative Verbs
By: Assist. Lect. Dalya Qays
The English verbs let, make, have, get, and help are called causative verbs because they cause something else to happen, or more simply they are the verbs that are used to indicate that one person causes another person to do something for him/her. One can cause somebody to do something for him/her by asking, paying, requesting, or forcing the person.
Causative verbs are:
LET = permit something to happen
Grammatical structure:
LET + PERSON/THING + VERB (base form)
Mary’s father won’t let her adopt a puppy because he’s allergic to dogs.
Our boss doesn’t let us eat lunch at our desks; we have to eat in the cafeteria.
MAKE = force or require someone to take an action
Grammatical structure:
MAKE + PERSON + VERB (base form)
The teacher made all the students rewrite their papers, because the first drafts were not acceptable
When using the verbs force and require, we must use to + verb.
The school requires the students to wear uniforms.
The heavy rain forced us to cancel the outdoor event.
HAVE = give someone else the responsibility to do something
Grammatical structure:
HAVE + PERSON + VERB (base form)
HAVE + THING + PAST PARTICIPLE OF VERB
The businessman had his secretary make copies of the report.
I’m going to have my hair cut tomorrow.
In informal speech, we often use get in such cases:
I’m going to get my hair cut tomorrow.
GET = convince/encourage someone to do something
Grammatical structure:
GET + PERSON + TO + VERB
How can we get all the employees to arrive on time?
HELP = assist someone in doing something
Grammatical structure:
HELP + PERSON + VERB (base form)
HELP + PERSON + TO + VERB
He helped me carry the boxes.
