Causative Verbs | English Grammar

Causative Verbs

Causative verbs are those verbs that cause something to happen. 'Have', 'get' and ‘make’ are causative verbs. When the subject does not carry out the action himself /herself but causes it to happen by someone (agent), we use these verbs.

Causative verbs can be used in different tenses. These three verbs have the following sentence structures. 

(i) Subj + make + agent + v1 + obj

e.g. Prerana made Pritija wash her dishes.
(Pritija washed dishes but only after being asked by Prerana.)
Passive: Agent + aux. +made + to + V1 + (by agent) 
I was made to dance. He is made to tell the story. How was she made to dance?

(ii) Subj + get + agent + to + v1 + obj
e.g. The teacher got her students to study hard.
(iii) Subj + have + agent + v1 + obj
e.g. The students had the teacher sing a song.
(iv) Subj + get/have + obj + v3 (no agent)
The head teacher got the classrooms cleaned in the evening.
So, the causative verbs appear in a sentence with or without an agent. The abovementioned structures can be remembered easily as follows.
A. ‘With agent’
i) get + agent + to + v1 - She got him to read it. (agent – ‘him’)

ii) have + agent +v1,- 'I have him write it', ('him' is the agent, 'have' doesn't take to - infinitive).
iii) make+ agent + v1- He made me clean his room. (agent- me)

B. ‘No agent’ but object

i) get/have + obj + v3. - I got my shirt ironed. (Someone did it but not mentioned.)
Bishnu had her shoes polished.
Note:
If there is 'get' + agent, the verb form is ‘to infinitive’ and it takes an object. But if there is "make", it always comes with an agent and the form of verb is ‘bare infinitive’.
Exercise:

1.    The people ________ the leaders keep their word. (has/ get/ make)

2.    The teacher gets the students ________ homework daily. (do/ to do/ done)

3.    We have the mechanics________ our vehicles. (mend/ to mend/ mended)

4.    People get government________ them with jobs. (provide/ to provide/ provided)

5.    I had my car________. (service/ serviced/ to service)

6.    People have engineers________ their houses. (design/ to design/ designed)

7.    I have my coat________. (wash/ to wash/ washed)

8.    They got their photos________. (to take/ take/ taken)

9.    Please have your room________. (to clean/ clean/ cleaned)

10. They got their books________. (print/ to print/ printed)

11. I have my chest________. (x-ray/ to x-ray/ x-rayed)

12. Ram's grandfather________ a tailor to stitch his trousers. (made/ got / had)

13. The teacher asked the students to get their hair ________. (trim/ trimmed/ to trim)

14. She got the letter ________. (to type/ typed/ type)

15. My father got me________ in the garden. (dig/ to dig/ dug)

16. I got the barber ________ my hair. (to cut / cutting / cut) 

17. Their smiling faces made me ________. (smile / to smile / smiled) 

18. I ________ him sing a song. (get / make / has)

19. Why did stranger faces make me ________? (freeze / to freeze / frozen) 

20. Please, help me to get my work ________. (do / did /done / to do) 

21. Students get their homework ________. (to check / check / checked) 

22. How can he have this car ________ in two days? (repair / repaired / to repair) 

23. Did your teacher make you ________ essays? (write / to write / writing) 

24. Rita got Ankit ________ his clothes. (wear / to wear / wearing) 

25. They ________ me to leave the class. (made / had / got) 

Answer Key:

1.    The people make the leaders keep their word. 

2.    The teacher gets the students to do homework daily. 

3.    We have the mechanics mended our vehicles. 

4.    People get government to provide them with jobs. 

5.    I had my car serviced. 

6.    People have engineers design their houses. 

7.    I have my coat washed. 

8.    They got their photos taken. 

9.    Please, have your room cleaned. 

10. They got their books printed. 

11. I have my chest x-rayed. 

12. Ram's grandfather got a tailor to stitch his trousers. 

13. The teacher asked the students to get their hair trimmed. 

14. She got the letter typed. 

15. My father got me to dig in the garden. 

16. I got the barber to cut my hair. 

17. Their smiling faces made me smile. 

18. I make him sing a song. 

19. Why did stranger faces make me freeze? 

20. Please, help me to get my work done. 

21. Students get their homework checked. 

22. How can he have this car repaired in two days? 

23. Did your teacher make you write essays? 

24. Rita got Ankit to wear his clothes. 

25. They got me to leave the class.