Causative Verbs: Let, Make, Have, and Get

For ESL Students, LET, MAKE, HAVE and GET can be confusing. They are called CAUSATIVE VERBS. Check out how to use them properly in any circumstances and practice with some exercises!

A Video Summary About Let / Make / Have / Get in English
A few explanations about Let / Make / Have / Get
Causative Verbs Exercise 1
Causative Verbs Exercise 2
Causative Verbs Exercise 3

 

A Video Summary About Causative Verbs (Let / Make / Have / Get)

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What do the verbs LET, MAKE, HAVE and GET have in common?

LET, MAKE, HAVE and GET are CAUSATIVE VERBS. This means they cause something else to happen. Look at the table below to understand their meanings:

VERB	CONSTRUCTION	MEANING
LET	Let + person + verb	To give permission/ to allow
MAKE	Make + person + verb	To force
HAVE	Have + person + verb	To give someone the responsibility or duty to do something
GET	Get + person + to + verb	To convince someone to do something

 

For this to work, we need to pair the causative verb with another verb (as seen in the construction above)
EXAMPLES:

VERB	EXAMPLE	MEANING
LET	My teacher let me leave	My teacher gave me permission to leave.
MAKE	My teacher made me explain	My teacher forced me to explain
HAVE	My teacher had me read	My teacher gave me the duty of reading
GET	My teacher got me to show my painting	My teacher convinced me to show my painting

Exercises about Causative Verbs Let / Make / Have / Get

Exercise 1 Complete the sentences with the verbs LET/MAKE/HAVE/GET in the present tense. Remember to conjugate the verb to the correct person

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Exercise 2 Choose the correct verb to fit into the spaces below

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Exercise 3 In each sentence there is a verb that doesn’t make sense. Rewrite each with the appropriate verb; let/make/have/get, to give the correct meaning

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