Blog about English
Using have, get, make, let and help in causative constructions.
Causative verbs express that one person causes another person or thing to perform an action.
English commonly uses make, let, have, get and help to express causation.
Make is followed by an object and the bare infinitive.
Examples include The teacher made the students stay and The joke made everyone laugh.
Let expresses permission and is followed by the bare infinitive.
Examples include Let me help you and They let the children play outside.
Help may be followed by either the bare infinitive or the to-infinitive.
Both Help me carry this and Help me to carry this are correct.
Have can mean arranging for someone to perform an action.
Example: I had the assistant print the report.
Get expresses persuasion or successful encouragement.
Example: She got him to apologize.
Have + object + past participle expresses arranging for a service.
Examples include have your hair cut, have the roof repaired and have your eyes tested.
Get + object + past participle also expresses arranging for a service.
This construction is especially common in spoken English.
The person performing the action is often unknown or unimportant.
Compare I repaired my car with I had my car repaired.
Make and force both express compulsion but follow different patterns.
Make takes the bare infinitive, while force requires the to-infinitive.
Let and allow both express permission.
Let takes the bare infinitive, while allow requires the to-infinitive.
Get and persuade often express successful encouragement.
Persuade is usually more formal than get.
Modal verbs can combine with causative constructions.
Examples include You should have your eyes tested and We must get this fixed.
Causative structures occur in all tenses.
Examples include had the car repaired, is having the roof repaired and will get it fixed.
Negative forms express preventing or refusing an action.
Examples include They did not let us leave and She could not get him to agree.
Some causative constructions themselves appear in passive sentences.
Example: He was made to apologize.
Some causative constructions are more formal than others.
Get is generally less formal than have, while force and require are common in formal writing.
English contains many fixed expressions with causative meaning.
Examples include make yourself at home, get something over with and have someone over.
Languages differ greatly in how they express causation.
Learners should avoid translating causative constructions directly from their native language.
Use the complement required by each causative verb.
Common mistakes include using to after make, omitting to after get, confusing let and allow, and using have something done incorrectly.