Grammar: Causative Verbs - Have, Make, Get, Let

Causative Verbs: Have, Make, Get, Let

The word ‘causative’ has the meaning of ‘somebody causes somebody to do something'. Some other verbs that are used to show causation are: let, help, cause, persuade, etc. Causative verbs in a sentence determine the forms of other verbs of that sentence.

Look at this picture. In this picture, the student is doing her homework - she is the doer or agent. The teacher is asking her to do her homework, i.e. the teacher causes the student to do her homework - the teacher is subject her. This picture can be interpreted in the following ways using causing verbs:


Make = force somebody to do something
The teacher made her student do the homework. (active form)
('Make' is not used in passive form)

Get = convince somebody to do something
The teacher got her student to do the homework. (active form)
The teacher got the homework done. (passive form)

Have = want (give sb responsibility) somebody to do something
The teacher had her student do the homework. (active form)
The teacher had the homework done. (passive form)

Let = permit/allow somebody to do something
The teacher let her student do the homework. (active form)
('Let' is not used in passive form)

Now, observe these rules and examples:

Exercise - CV1
Look at the picture of a washerman and a donkey, and fill in the blank space with the appropriate option given.

1. The washerman makes the donkey .......... the clothes. (carry, carried, to carry)
2. The washerman gets the donkey .............. the clothes. (carry, carried, to carry)
3. The washerman gets the clothes .............. every day. (carry, carried, to carry)
4. The washerman has the donkey ............. the clothes. (carry, carried, to carry)
5. The washerman has the clothes ............ every day. (carry, carried, to carry)
6. The washerman lets the donkey ............ the clothes. (carry, carried, to carry)
7. The washerman .............. the donkey carry the clothes. (make, gets, has)
8. The washerman ............... the donkey to carry the clothes. (makes, gets, has)
9. The washerman .............. the clothes carried every morning. (makes, gets, have)

Exercise - CV2
Rewrite the following sentences selecting the correct answer from the brackets:

1. The engineer got the workmen …… (built, build, to build) the bridge.        
   
2. We made the gardener …….. out the grass. (to cut, cut, cutting).     
   
3. My father got me ……… the homework. (doing, to do, do) 
   
4. I made my mother …….. new clothes. (buy, bought, to buy)
5. The teacher got Shyam …….. a glass of water. (bring, to bring, bringing, brings)
   
6. She didn't want to sing a song. I asked her she had to. I made her ……… a song. (to sing, sings, sing, sang)            
   
7. She is very cruel. She always makes her children ……. the hard work. (to do, do, does)     
   
8. My shoes are dirty. I will get the cobbler ……. them. (to polish, polish, to be polished, polished)
9. He made his sons …….. (work, to work, worked) hard.         
   
10. He got his wife …….. (call, called, to call) his sons. 
    
11. Rita got her dress ……. (washed, to wash, wash, washing).  
    
12. He made us …….. (sang, to sing, sing, singing) a song yesterday.   
    
13. He got his servant …… (clean/cleaned/to clean/cleans) the rooms.  
    
14. My daughter made me ……… (bought/to buy/buy) an expensive sari for her.
15. He is very lazy. He always …….. (make, makes, gets) his mother to clean his room.          
    
16. The teacher made the students …….. the exercise. (to do, does, do)