英文使役動詞 | 4 Causative Verbs: Make, Have, Get, Let (Complete Guide)

Every time your boss emails “please have the report ready by Friday” or a friend says “I’ll get the tech guy to fix it,” a causative verb is doing the heavy lifting. These four verbs — make, have, get, Dan let — appear constantly in professional and everyday English, yet they trip up even advanced learners. The reason is simple: Chinese doesn’t map to them the same way, so the patterns have to be learned as grammar rules, not just translated. This guide breaks each one down clearly, with real examples Taiwan learners will recognize.

使役動詞是什麼？[What Are Causative Verbs?]

A causative verb describes a situation where Subject A causes Subject B to do something. Instead of saying “I asked my colleague to submit the form, and he did it,” English collapses that into one tight causative construction: I had my colleague submit the form.

The four main causative verbs differ in meaning and structure. In quick summary: make implies compulsion, have implies delegation, get implies persuasion, and let implies permission. Knowing which situation calls for which verb — and which grammatical pattern follows — is the entire skill.

MAKE — 強迫或導致 [Forcing or Causing]

MAKE implies that one person forces or compels another to act — a useful verb in workplace and authority relationships.

Pattern: make + object + base verb (no “to”)

When you make someone do something, you’re asserting authority or applying pressure strong enough that they comply. The choice is not really theirs.

• The manager made the team work over the weekend.
• The noise outside made it impossible for me to concentrate.
• The movie made everyone in the theater cry.

Notice there is no “to” between made and the verb. This is the single most common error: writing “made him to work” instead of “made him work.” Drop the “to.”

In the passive voice, something unusual happens — the “to” reappears. Compare:

• Active: The boss made us stay late. (no to)
• Passive: We were made to stay late by the boss. (to returns)

This is a well-tested point in GEPT and TOEIC, so it’s worth memorizing both forms. If you’re studying for either test, check out our English Passive Voice guide for a full breakdown of passive structures.

HAVE — 安排或委託 [Arranging Something Done]

HAVE is the professional’s causative — used when you delegate a task to someone who is expected to complete it.

Have is the workhorse of professional English. It carries no sense of force; instead, it suggests arrangement, assignment, or delegation. You use it when someone is doing their job or fulfilling a role you’ve arranged.

Pattern 1: have + object + base verb (no “to”)

• I’ll have my assistant send you the invoice.
• Can you have the kitchen staff set up the room by six?
• She had her lawyer review the contract before signing.

There is also a second, extremely common causative pattern using have with a past participle. This is sometimes called the “causative passive” because it shows that something was done ke your object — typically by a professional you paid.

Pattern 2: have + object + past participle

“I had my car fixed” — the car doesn’t fix itself, and you didn’t fix it yourself; you arranged for someone else to do it.

• I need to have my car fixed before the road trip.
• Dia had her passport photo taken at the post office.
• We’re going to have the office repainted next month.

The distinction between Patterns 1 and 2 comes down to who performs the action. In Pattern 1 (have him fix it), you can name the person doing the work. In Pattern 2 (have it fixed), the doer is anonymous — you just know it got done.

GET — 說服或激勵 [Persuading Someone]

GET implies effort — you negotiated, convinced, or motivated the other person to act. There’s a sense of achievement when you finally “get” someone to do something.

Get is the most flexible causative verb, and also the one that trips up learners most often — because unlike make Dan have, it requires “to” before the base verb.

Pattern 1: get + object + ke + base verb

• I finally got my landlord to fix the broken window.
• Dia got her team to agree on a new timeline.
• How did you get him to apologize?

The “to” is mandatory. Writing “I got him fix it” is incorrect — it sounds unnatural to any native speaker. For more on when “to” is required and when it’s dropped, see our guide to Gerunds vs Infinitives.

Get also works with the past participle construction, just like have:

Pattern 2: get + object + past participle

“I need to get my hair cut” — one of the most common causative expressions in everyday spoken English.

• I need to get my hair memotong before the wedding.
• Can you get those documents signed by end of day?
• Dia got her phone repaired in under an hour.

In Pattern 2, get Dan have are almost interchangeable in everyday speech. The slight difference: have sounds more formal and neutral; get sounds more casual and sometimes implies that it took some effort to arrange.

LET — 給予許可 [Giving Permission]

LET is the permission causative — the subject grants approval for the other person to act.

Pattern: let + object + base verb (no “to”)

Let means to allow or give permission. Like make, it takes a base verb with no “to.”

• My manager let Saya work from home on Fridays.
• Silakan let Saya know if you need anything.
• The teacher let the students use their notes during the test.

One important limitation: let has no natural passive form. You cannot say “I was let to leave.” Instead, switch to allow:

• ❌ I was let to leave early.
• ✓ I was allowed to leave early.

句型對比一覽表 [The Four Patterns Side by Side]

The table below captures the entire system. The patterns are fixed — there are no exceptions once you learn which verb takes “to” and which doesn’t:

台灣學習者常犯的4個錯誤 [4 Mistakes Taiwan Learners Make]

Knowing the patterns is one thing — avoiding the common traps is what separates test-passers from fluent speakers.

These four errors show up constantly in Taiwan learner writing. Each one has a clear fix:

1. Adding “to” after MAKE or LET:
❌ The noise made me ke lose concentration.
✓ The noise made me lose concentration.

2. Forgetting “to” after GET:
❌ I got the plumber fix the pipe.
✓ I got the plumber ke fix the pipe.

3. Using LET in a passive sentence:
❌ I was let leave early by my manager.
✓ I was allowed to leave early by my manager.

4. Confusing “have someone do” vs “have something done”:
❌ I had fixed my car. (sounds like past perfect — you fixed it yourself)
✓ I had my car fixed. (causative — someone fixed it for you)

Mistake 4 is subtle but important: changing the word order changes the entire meaning. “I had repaired the car by noon” = past perfect (you yourself repaired it). “I had the car repaired by noon” = causative (someone repaired it for you). This difference comes up on GEPT writing tests regularly.

快速練習 [Quick Practice]

Complete each sentence with the correct causative verb and form:

1. The cold weather ______ everyone ______ their coats. (put on — forced)
2. She ______ her accountant ______ the tax return. (file — arranged)
3. He finally ______ his neighbours ______ turn down the music. (turn down — persuaded)
4. My parents never ______ me ______ out past midnight. (stay — permitted)
5. I need to ______ my glasses ______. (fix — arranged by a professional)

Answers:

1. made everyone put on their coats
2. had her accountant file the tax return
3. got his neighbours to turn down the music
4. let Saya stay out past midnight
5. get / have my glasses fixed

If you stumbled on number 3 (the “to” after get) or number 5 (the past participle for an impersonal causative), those are the two areas to drill before your next TOEIC or GEPT sitting. And if verb patterns in general feel shaky, our Phrasal Verbs with GET guide is worth reviewing — get is one of the most pattern-rich verbs in English, and understanding its causative use is part of the bigger picture.

Watch: Causative Verbs Explained [視頻講解]

Sumber

1. English Grammar — Causative Verbs — Overview of make, have, get, let with structural rules and examples.
2. Cambridge Dictionary Grammar — Causative Use of Have and Get — Authoritative reference on the have/get + object + past participle construction.
3. ETS — About the TOEIC Test — Background on TOEIC format relevant to Taiwan test-takers.