Causatives
Introduction
The causative is a common structure in English. It is used when one thing or person causes another thing or person to do something. This page will explain how causatives are formed, and how to use them.
Basic causative structures
There are two basic causative structures. One is like an active, and the other is like a passive. These examples use the causative verb "have":
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| I had John fix the car. | I had the car fixed. |
| (I arranged for the car to be fixed by John — I caused him to fix it.) | (I arranged for the car to be fixed by someone. We don't know who, so this is like a passive.) |
The active causative structure
This is the basic structure of the active form, along with some more examples:
| Subject | Causative verb | Agent | Action verb | Object |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan | had | her brother | do | her homework. |
| The police | had | the suspect | stop | his car. |
| We | had | the carpenter | fix | our window. |
The passive causative structure
In the passive form, there is usually no agent. The action verb is in the past participle, and the object comes before it:
| Subject | Causative verb | Object | Action verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| We | had | our door | fixed. |
| Yukiko | had | her hair | cut. |
| Sanjay | had | the windows | cleaned. |
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] |