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	> Similar tests: - 'Make someone do'/'Have something done': (a little further) - Make someone do/ Be made to do - Causative clauses and passive form with Have - Causative clauses - Causative Form - To talk someone into / out of doing something ... - Have something done - Do / Make
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Causative clauses: making someone do something

In English, when a person wants to express the idea that someone's working for him/ her (somebody is making someone do something, or that someone is getting/ having something done,) he doesn't realise the predicament a French person is in. It may be the same in other languages. (I've noticed many non-French-speaking learners make the same mistakes as French people...) Let's compare: 

1) Kyle made his younger sister work. 

2) Kyle had his younger sister driven home.

In sentence 1, the verb in the infinitive has an active meaning:  The young sister has acted! She has worked!

In sentence 2, the verb in the infinitive has a passive meaning: The young sister has endured the action! She was driven home.

Once that distinction between active and passive forms has been made and understood, things are becoming much simpler! 

1) With an active meaning, use 'TO MAKE someone DO': => to make someone do something=  to make + object + infinitive without to 

- To make us lose weight, they starve us. 

- Chris will make us miss our train if he doesn't arrive now. « us » is the DOC (direct object complement) of 'make' and the subject of 'miss'.

 The subject of the sentence and of the main verb (make) is initiating the action, but not doing it himself/ herself.

  In the United States, and in other countries, or regions, 'make' is often replaced by 'have' in that construction: The police had the witness tell them what he saw.

  The construction with 'to make', often implies a coercive nuance:

-  I will make you work! (= Otherwise you wouldn't!)

   In the passive form, this construction needs a complete infinitive => to be made TO do something

- He was made to hand over the money he had stolen. 

2) With a passive meaning use TO GET/ HAVE something DONE: = Subject + get/ have + object + past participle

- My parents got/ had the living room repainted.

- They had a new school built. 

In those two sentences, the actions were passive: The living room was repainted. The school was built. The actions were really endured.

The attention is focused on the action and its result.

- Dad will have his car repaired at the garage because he can't do it himself. 

- Mum had/got her purse stolen and reported it at the police station. 

 3) A few cases are exceptions... (alas!) and will have to be learnt because they don't obey the 2 rules!

- to grow flowers or vegetables; 

- to keep somebody waiting; 

- to be run over (by a car); 

- to get oneself invited;  ......and especially:

- to make oneself understood/ heard/ obeyed/ respected.

Now, it's your turn to decide whether you'll use one expression or the other in the following sentences...

Go for it!  

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1. You should apologise for being rude. If you don’t, you’ll be make to domade domade donemade doingmade to doI don't know it and you’ll be ashamed of the humiliation.


2. I like this teacher. Of course, he makes us workwas made workmakes us to workmakes us workingI don't know a lot, but he’s quite passionate and interesting.


3. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll take Silky to the vet’s to get him vaccinateto have him vaccinatedto make him vaccinateto have him to vaccinateI don't know. He won’t like it.


4. During the rugby match, Philip was tackled and have his ankle sprainedmake his ankle sprainhad his ankle sprainedhave his ankle sprainingI don't know.


5. When I arrived in Italy, I couldn’t understand a word of what was said and it was very difficult to get myself understandmake myself understoodhave me understandingmake me understandI don't know.


6. Mum would like to make my bedroom repaintto have my bedroom repaintingto have my bedroom repaintedto have my bedroom repaintI don't know, but she’d like it painted blue and I want it black…


7. Please, be sure to leave on time not to keep your father waitingmake your father to waithave your father waitingI don't know. He doesn’t like it.


8. 'Look at this old block of flats... I was told that they have one demolishinghad one demolishedmake one demolishI don't know last week.'


9. When she had a flat tyre, Mum managed make it changingto get it changedhave it changeto make it changeI don't know by the neighbour…


10. 'I know that he refuses to do it, but don’t worry, I'll make him obeyget him obeyedmake him to obeyhave him obeyingI don't know, whether he wants it or not.'