REMEMBER: There are two basic causative structures -
an active one (Example: "I had Mike fix my computer", "I let him go there"), and a passive one (Example: "I had my computer fixed").
It is often used with the following verbs: TO HAVE, TO LET, TO MAKE, TO GET, and a few others.
1. I'm going to have Mike ________ my computer to see what's wrong.
look at
to look at
looked at
2. One of my wisdom teeth was hurting, so I went to the dentist ________.
to have it remove
to have it to be removed
to have it removed
3. Are you going to ________ like this?
let him suffer
let him to suffer
allow him suffer
4. The teacher ________ my essay in class today.
had me to read
had me read
had it read
5. Julie will not ________ the boy from across the street.
let her daughter marry
let her daughter to marry
let her daughter married
6. I had the ________ when I was renovating my apartment.
wall to be knocked down
wall knocked down
wall knock down
7. I ________ her to apologize.
made him call
made him to call
made him called
8. I have ________ many times.
my heart broken
had my heart broken
had my heart broke
9. The authorities ________ as soon as they found out she was there illegally.
have her deport
had her to be deported
had her deported
10. I had my boyfriend ________.
make me breakfast
made me breakfast
to make me breakfast
11. Robert had his brother ________.
to help him move
help him move
to help move him
12. We ________ by a professional gardener.
had mowed the lawn
had our lawn to be mowed
had our lawn mowed
13. Are you going to ________ this way?
let him behave
get him behave
have him to behave
14. Harry got another lawyer ________.
represent him
represented him
to represent him
15. Arthur will not ________ his car.
let us borrow
let us to borrow
let us borrowed
16. I had the problem ________.
to be taken care of
taken care of
take care of
17. We had our teacher ________ to us.
explain the answer
to explain the answer
explained the answer
18. They managed to get her ________.
explained what she did
to explain what she did
explain what she did
19. The prosecutor hoped to have the suspect ________ as soon as possible.
arrested
arrest
to arrest
20. Can I get ________ by Tuesday?
these books deliver
delivered these books
these books delivered
The causative form in English is used when one person causes another person to do something, or causes something to happen. There are a few common structures for this:
1. Have + object + past participle
(Used when someone arranges for something to be done by someone else)
Example: "I had my car washed."
→ I arranged for someone else to wash my car.
2. Get + object + past participle
(Similar to "have", but slightly more informal)
Example: "She got her hair done."
→ She arranged for someone to do her hair.
3. Make + object + base verb
(Used when someone forces or strongly encourages someone to do something)
Example: "The teacher made us stay after class."
→ The teacher forced us to stay.
4. Let + object + base verb
(Used when someone gives permission)
Example: "He let me borrow his car."
→ He allowed me to borrow it.
5. Help + object + base verb (or to + verb)
(Used when someone assists someone else)
Example: "She helped me (to) fix the computer."
(c) 2006-2025 LearnEnglishFeelGood.com unless otherwise stated. REPOSTING ANY OF OUR CONTENT ONLINE IS NOT ALLOWED. Please see our content policy before sharing our content.
