使Voice and politeness
Making and letting
The causative says someone makes or lets another person do something. Context, and helper verbs, tell you which one it is.
Making it
Every verb has one
These behave like group 2 verbs. Casually, some people also use forms ending in -asu or -sasu.
| Group | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | final -u becomes -aseru | 書く → 書かせる, 行く → 行かせる |
| Group 2 | drop る, add させる | 食べる → 食べさせる |
| Irregular | する → させる, 来る → 来させる |
Make, or let?
The same form
The mother made her child eat vegetables.
A context of forcing.
The mother let her child eat what they liked.
A context of allowing.
Particles
を or に for the person
I made the kids run.
With a verb that has no object, を is common, regardless of their wishes.
I let the kids run.
に suggests they acted willingly.
I made the kids read a book.
When there's already a を, the person must take に.
Asking permission
With て form + helpers
Please let me go.
Please let me think a while.
Allow me to show you the way.
Very humble.
I got my son to help.
Being made to
Causative + passive
I was made to drink by my friends.
You didn't want to. Group 1 often shortens from 飲ませられる to 飲まされる.
I was made to sing by my teacher.
I was made to clean my room by my mother.
Group 2 and する use させられる.
A shorter form
~す, often more direct
The mother had her child take the medicine.
The standard form.
The mother made her child take the medicine.
飲ます works as a group 1 verb, and often feels more hands-on.
Watch the status
Who can make whom
Causatives go downward, so you make a child or a junior do something. You wouldn't use it of your boss or teacher: ask for a favor with ~ていただく instead. To make things or change their state, Japanese also uses it: 花を咲かせる, “to make flowers bloom.”
Check yourself
Is this making, letting, or being made?
Your turn
に or を?
I made the child take medicine.
Say it yourself
Parent's view
Your friend asks about your kids. You let them play outside, you make them do homework, and you were made to study piano by your own mother.
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