Mr. K's Grammar World: verbs

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Monday, September 2, 2013

The Devil Made Me Do It: Causative Verbs (Part I)

As every child knows, it’s awesome when your parents let you eat ice cream, but not so much when they make you eat things like brussels sprouts, liver, or in Japan, that gawd-awful substance known as natto. For those of you who have never had the “pleasure,” count your blessings. If you can get past the stinky-shoe odor or the slimy over-cooked ocra texture, the strings of goo that will cover your face will leave you with a particularly “wonderful” reminder for the rest of the day, especially, if like me, you have a beard. (So, of course, my sons LOVE the stuff and always try to kiss me after a big heaping bowlful. I love them, but not that much.)

What most children don’t know, however, is that make and let are also known as causative verbs. How we allow our children to enter the first grade without this knowledge is a mystery to me.

And what any student who has made it to at least the intermediate level of English knows is that causative verbs are a major pain in the okole. (That’s the Hawaiian word for the part of your body that you sit on.) And they aren’t much easier in other languages either. I’ve been studying/speaking Japanese for over twenty years and I still can’t use the causative ~saseru properly. Don’t get me started on the causative passive ~saserareru.

However, like anything else, with practice, causative verbs don’t have to be the nightmare they seem to be for most students. All you really need to know to master causative verbs is how to use them (their patterns), when to use them (especially choosing the right one for the situation), and maybe most importantly, when NOT to use them.

Infinitives

The first key to understanding causative verbs is an understanding of infinitives. By the time they begin learning causatives, all students should know what a basic infinitive is. An infinitive is simply to plus the base form of a verb.

to sing
to run
to jump
to scream in frustration when you study English

However, what many students don’t know is that there is a second kind of infinitive: the bare infinitive. Just like bare feet means without shoes, a bare infinitive is an infinitive without “to”. In other words, a bare infinitive is the same as the base form of a verb. The difference is, you NEVER add ~s to a bare infinitive the way you would a regular verb that follows he, she or it or add ~ed in the past tense. Bare infinitives never change.

The Most Common Causative Verbs: Make and Let

The two most common causative verbs are the ones used in the example above, make and let. Grammatically they are the same and both are very informal and conversational, but their meanings are completely opposite.

Make and let both use the same basic patterns.

make / let someone do something
make / let something happen

In a causative sentence, you always need two verbs. The causative verb is the main verb of the clause. The second verb, usually an action verb, is always a bare infinitive form.

I made my brother hit himself.
Sometimes, I let my son win.

In these examples, the first noun (the subject I) is the person who controls the situation. The second noun (the objects brother and son) are the people who will do the action, the hitting and the winning.

(I loved making my brother hit himself when we were kids. I could usually get in three or four shots before his screaming brought our parents running. Unfortunately, he got much bigger and stronger in high school, so I can’t do it anymore.)

To summarize, make and let are the same grammatically. They both use the same patterns with bare infinitives and they are both informal and conversational.

Their differences, on the other hand, are much more important.

If someone lets you do something, you are happy. It is something you want to do. However, you must get permission from someone, like your parents, your boss or a teacher.

Our teacher lets us use dictionaries on tests.
My parents let me borrow their car on Saturday.
My boss let me go home early today.

Two helping verbs that are very similar to let are can and may, which you use to ask for permission.

“May we use our dictionaries on the test?”
“Can I borrow your car on Saturday?”
“May I go home early today?”

Conversely, if someone makes you do something, you are probably going to complain about it. You don’t want to do it. However, you have no choice because your parents, your teachers or your boss have control over the situation. They have authority. You can’t say no.

My teacher makes us type everything.
My parents make me do chores around the house.
My boss made me work late every day this week.

Two helping verbs that are similar to make are must and have to, which you use to give orders.

Teacher: “You must type all of your homework assignments.”
Parents: “You have to do the dishes and clean your room.”
Boss: “I’m sorry, but you must work late again tonight.

In other words: let = happy / make = unhappy.

Other Causative Verbs: Require and Allow

Two other common causative verbs share the same similarities and differences as make and let. They are require and allow.

Require and allow are more formal. They should be used in writing and professional discussions. Also, they have a different pattern. They both need the full infinitive with to.

require/allow someone to do something
require/allow something to happen

Allow, however, has the same meaning as let. It is used to give permission, which makes you happy.

The school lets students wear shorts and slippers at school.
The school allows students to wear shorts and slippers at school.

As you might guess, require has the same meaning as make, and is used to give orders, or things you have to do.

Most Asian schools make their students wear uniforms.
Most Asian schools require their students to wear uniforms.

In this case, I much prefer the second sentence. Make just seems too strong. Require makes it sound like it's a rule, but it's an accepted part of life.

Common Errors

The most common error is a simple one. Students will often use the full infinitive (with to) with make and let.

My father made me to wash his car.
My mother let me to have ice cream for dessert.

Asking why this is wrong is like asking why it’s wrong to steal. The only answer that matters is because it is. I’m sure there is some reason going back to the 1500s and farmers in northern England or Scotland (I’m making this up, of course), but it’s just not important. The only thing learners have to do is learn it, and to learn it, you must practice it. In other words, just do it. (Don’t you hate it when you ask your father why and he says “Because I’m your father.” Same principle, same frustration.)

The second most common error is a much bigger problem. It combines the ideas of permission and happiness. (Remember that let = happy, make = unhappy.) If you ask your wife if it is ok to go to Las Vegas with your friends and she says “yes,” then you are happy, right?

My wife let me go to Las Vegas with my friends.

However, if she says “no,” then you are unhappy, right? Therefore, you need the causative verb make, right? But you still can’t go, so you need the negative not somewhere, right? So, it must go with the infinitive, right?

My wife made me not to go to Las Vegas with my friends.

WRONG!!! The mistake is only thinking about happy and unhappy, which is a good rule of thumb. However, you also have to think about the other rule of thumb: let = permission and make = order. This situation is still all about permission. The problem is that my wife won’t give me permission. Therefore, regardless of yes or no, let is still the correct causative verb for this situation.

My wife won’t let me go to Las Vegas with my friends.
My wife wouldn’t let me go to Las Vegas with my friends.*

When Should You Use a Causative Verb

There is a simple guiding idea that I use when I write and I advise all of my students to keep in mind when they write: Remember the KISS principle - Keep It Simple, Stupid. It is best not to use a causative verb if you don’t have to. For example, the following sentences have basically the same meaning:

I have to read this book for English class.
My English teacher is making me read this book for English class.

Both of them mean I think the book is REALLY boring. The first sentence simply shows my opinion of the assignment. I would only use the causative verb make if it is important to say who is in charge, or who made the decision.

In other words, if who gave the order, if who gave permission is important, then use a causative verb. Otherwise, use a simple sentence with the helping verbs can, must, or have to.

Simple, right? We've only scratched the surface, ya'll.

(I really appreciate questions, comments and suggestions. Feel free to post them in the Commestions and Comments link below or join my Facebook group Mr. K's Grammar World.)

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*The first sentence with will shows that the trip to Las Vegas that I REALLY want to go on is still in the future. The second sentence with would shows that the Las Vegas trip is over. My buddies went and had a great time.

(I really appreciate questions, comments and suggestions. Feel free to post them in the Comments section below. However, I don't often see them right away. Instead, you can use the Questions and Comments link below or join my Facebook group Mr. K's Grammar World.)

Useful Links

The Devil Made Me Do It: Causative Verbs (Part II - Other Causative Verbs)

Make, let, allow and require are probably the most common causative verbs. There are, however, several others that are useful. Like so many other groups of similar words in English, knowing the subtle differences between words can be tricky, but also very important.

Have, Get and Ask

Two causative verbs that are similar to make or require are have and get. However, unlike make or require, which often mean someone is unhappy, have and get are fairly neutral.

Have is used in the pattern have someone do something, which requires the bare infinitive. (Don’t add to.) To see the difference, look at the following examples.

I made my son carry our bags to our hotel room.
I had the bellman take our bags to our hotel room.

In the first sentence, no doubt my son is grumbling under his breath. “How come I have to do all the work. Why cant HE carry his own stupid bags?” (Son. You need to understand that your job is to do all the stuff that I don’t want to do. That’s why we didn’t sell you to the circus years ago. When you have your own children, you’ll understand.)

The bellman, on the other hand, happily (I hope) takes us to our room. Why? Because it’s his JOB. I’m not asking him to do anything unusual. (And he’s expecting a tip.) Have is used to describe actions that are part of everyday life and usually there is some sort of payment involved. Look at the next pair of example sentences.

I made a student stay after school to finish his homework.
I have my students do homework two or three times a week.

In the first sentence, this is a punishment. The student didn’t finish their homework on time, so now they are suffering the consequences and are not happy about it. On the other hand, homework in general is a regular part of the academic process. It’s the students’ JOB. Their reward is an education (and a good grade). Have is most commonly used by a boss or a customer asking for service but is also commonly used to describe teachers and students and parents and children for things like chores. (Contrary to popular belief among youth, having your children wash the dishes and vacuum the living room is not child abuse.)

Get is very similar to have, with a couple of differences. First, the pattern is get someone to do something (with the full infinitive). Second, it is informal and conversational, and not as good as have when money is involved.

Get is usually used to describe favors between friends and acquaintances. I would use this to describe friends who helped us move, or a student who erased the whiteboard for me after class.

I got a friend to help me bring our new sofa into the house.
I got a student to go to the school store to get me some new markers.

They are doing me favors. All my friend needs in return is a couple of slices of pizza. And when my friend needs help with something, I’ll be there. The student is just being nice (or desperately needs to get out of my boring class).

With both have and get, the reason I get the help is because I asked. (With the exception of my son carrying the bags, which was simply a statement. “Boy! Carry the bags.”)

Could you take our bags to our room, please?”
Could you give me a hand with my new sofa on Saturday?
Would someone go to the school store and get some new whiteboard pens, please?

The basic pattern is ask someone to do something with the full infinitive. It can be used in place of have or get and is a little more polite. Ask is good to use with friends and children to parents. Ask is friendly, but polite.

Cause vs. Make

Another useful causative verb is the (obvious?) cause and is quite similar to make, which was discussed in the previous blog, though there are three differences to keep in mind. First, they have different patterns. You can make someone do something or make something happen, both with bare infinitives (without to). For example:

The coach made the players run five miles.
The strong wind made the windows shake.

Cause, on the other hand, requires the full infinitive (with to), as in:

The dust in the air caused me to sneeze.
The strong wind caused the windows to shake.

This also illustrates the two other differences. Make is much more informal and conversational. Cause is much better for formal situations. Also, and more importantly, make is used when a person has control or authority. Cause is used to simply describe an action and reaction. Therefore, the following sentence is incorrect.

The coach caused the players to run five miles.
The coach made the players run five miles.

The coach has authority over the players. The coach ordered them to do this. The players had to run. The wind did not order the windows to shake. It just happened.

Encourage and Help

As any parent knows, you can’t make your children do everything. For many things, they have to make their own decisions. My oldest son will be graduating from high school in June 2014 and then he’s off to college. The decision of what college to attend is his. However, I can give him advice. I can encourage him in one direction or another.

Encourage is used to show a suggestion and is very similar to the helping verb should. However, the other person must make the final choice. The basic pattern is encourage someone to do something, with a full infinitive. For example:

I think my son should try out for the swim team.
I will encourage my son to try out for the swim team.

While encourage is more passive (I’m standing on the side watching my son), help is another causative verb that is more active. When you help someone, you participate in the activity, but the final product is theirs.

Skyler helped his mother make dinner.
Kai helped me to wash the car.

The chef of the meal is Skyler’s mother. The person responsible for the cleanliness of the my car is me.

Among this group of causative verbs, help is unique. While all of the others are limited to one strict pattern, either with a full infinitive or a bare infinitive, help can be followed by either.

A student helped the teacher straighten up the desks after class.
A student helped the teacher to straighten up the desks after class.

Both are considered correct, but the first one (without to) is probably most common in American English and the one that I find myself using most often.

Force

The last causative verb I would like to discuss is also the strongest. Force is used in extreme situations, situations that could end in injury or death – a threat that violence, possibly with a weapon, might be used. Force is used to show that there was no other choice, no matter how difficult the decision was or how much trouble was caused by the decision. For example:

The armed bank robber forced everyone in the bank to lie on the floor.
The heavy snow forced officials to close the airport.

In the first example, everyone lies on the floor because the robber has a gun. If they don’t, they might get shot and killed. In the second example, closing an airport is an extreme decision that will affect thousands of people, but it has to be done to keep everyone safe. They don’t want to do it, but they have no choice.

As you can see from the examples, the basic pattern is force someone to do something with a full infinitive.

Learning the basic patterns (with or without to) is fairly easy and can be done with a little bit of practice. However, knowing when to use a causative verb and which one is best is the ultimate goal for language learners.
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The Devil Made Me Do It: Causative Verbs (Part V: Geek Edition)

Where Does the Causative Pattern Come From?

This entry is for the true grammar geeks out there. In fact, I may be the only one who finds this interesting, but here it is anyway.

There is a theory of grammar (not just English grammar) called Transformational Grammar. The simplest way I can describe it is to say that everything comes from a clause. For example, look at the sentence The books sitting on the table are mine. Because there are two verbs, there must be two clauses.

The books are mine.
The books are sitting on the table.

Then, by following the rules of transformation, you make two changes. First, the books is changes to that in order to make an adjective clause.

The books that are sitting on the table are mine.

Next, following the rules of reduction (making the sentence shorter by taking away unnecessary words), the pronoun that and the helping verb are can be eliminated, leaving you with the core sentence.

The books sitting on the table are mine.

You can use the same kind of transformation to explain causative verbs. In the sentence, My wife made me sleep on the couch, there are two clauses buried in the structure.

My wife made me do something.
I slept on the couch.

First, you must plug in the parts of the second clause into the pattern of the first clause. I becomes me, slept becomes sleep because you need a bare infintive in this statement. The rest stays the same.

My wife made me sleep on the couch.

It is important to note that the object of made is not just me. The object is the entire infinitive clause and me is actually the subject sleep.

If you want to add information about why, you can add a third clause.

My wife made me sleep on the couch.
I was snoring loudly.

To connect a reason, you can use the conjunction because.

My wife made me sleep on the couch because I was snoring loudly.

If you want to take the transformation a step further, which may or may not be a good choice. (It’s the writer’s decision) Since snoring can also be a noun, you can use the preposition because of instead of the conjunction. In order to keep the ideas of I and loudly, they must be changed into forms that can connect to a noun. The subject pronoun I becomes the adjective pronoun my and the adverb loudly become the adjective loud.

My wife made me sleep on the couch because of my loud snoring.

Congratulations for making it this far.

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