Causative verbs

Definition

Causative verbs are verbs that indicate the action of causing someone or something to do something or to have something done. These verbs often involve a subject who initiates an action indirectly, transferring the action to an object, which can then take a complement to describe the result of the action. Understanding causative verbs is essential as they help in constructing sentences that express relationships between actions and their agents.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Causative verbs often include constructions like 'make', 'have', 'let', 'get', and 'want', where the subject causes an action to occur.
2. In causative constructions, the subject is not performing the action themselves but is responsible for it happening, such as in 'I had my car washed.'
3. The structure of a causative verb usually involves an agent followed by an object and then a bare infinitive or past participle, depending on the specific causative verb used.
4. Causative verbs can take different forms based on tense and aspect, impacting how the relationship between subjects and actions is expressed.
5. In English, causative verbs can also be used with modal verbs, creating complex expressions like 'should have someone do something.'

Review Questions

• How do causative verbs function in sentences, and what roles do they play regarding subjects and objects?
  • Causative verbs function by allowing the subject to cause an action to be performed by another agent or object. For instance, in a sentence like 'I had my brother fix my bike,' 'I' is the subject who causes the action (fixing) to happen, but does not perform it directly. The object of the causative verb is 'my brother,' who actually does the fixing. This relationship emphasizes how causative verbs convey indirect actions through their structure.
• What is the difference between using 'make' and 'have' as causative verbs, and how does each affect sentence structure?
  • 'Make' and 'have' serve different functions as causative verbs; 'make' implies forcing someone to take action, while 'have' suggests requesting or arranging for something to be done. For example, in 'She made him cry,' it indicates coercion, whereas in 'She had her hair done,' it shows that she arranged for someone else to perform an action. This difference affects sentence structure because it determines whether there’s a sense of obligation or simply facilitation in how actions are carried out.
• Evaluate how causative verbs enhance our understanding of agency in language, especially in complex sentence constructions.
  • Causative verbs enhance our understanding of agency by clarifying who is responsible for initiating actions within complex sentence constructions. By using these verbs, speakers can articulate nuanced relationships between subjects and objects, highlighting degrees of influence or control. For example, in sentences like 'I got my car repaired,' the speaker's agency is implied through their role in organizing the repair without physically doing it. This level of detail enriches communication by allowing for more sophisticated expressions of intention and responsibility in language.

Related terms

Agent: The agent is the doer of the action in a sentence, typically represented by the subject that performs or initiates an action.

Direct Object:

A direct object receives the action of the verb directly, answering the question 'what?' or 'whom?' after the verb.

Subject Complement: A subject complement follows a linking verb and provides additional information about the subject, often in the form of a noun or adjective.