B2–C1 Grammar Verbs

Causative Verbs in English

Causative verbs let you say that you arrange for someone else to do something — I had my hair cut, She got the car repaired, They made him apologise. Master have, get, make and let to express who really does the action.

A causative verb shows that the subject does not perform an action themselves, but causes, arranges, or permits someone else to do it. When you say I cut my hair, you did it yourself; when you say I had my hair cut, a hairdresser did it for you. This small grammatical change carries a big difference in meaning, and it is a key B2–C1 structure.

The main causative verbs are have, get, make and let. They split into two families: have and get are used for services and arrangements (have something done), while make, let and have describe causing or allowing a person to act (make somebody do).

Have Something Done

The structure have + object + past participle means you arrange for someone else to do a service for you. The focus is on the result, not on who performs the action.

Structure: subject + have + thing + past participle (+ by someone)

The verb have changes for tense; the second verb stays as a past participle:

Tense Example
Present simpleI have my car serviced every year.
Present continuousI am having my car serviced now.
Past simpleI had my car serviced last week.
Present perfectI have had my car serviced already.
Future (will)I will have my car serviced tomorrow.
ModalI should have my car serviced soon.

Get Something Done

The structure get + object + past participle means almost the same as have something done, but it is slightly more informal and can suggest effort, persuasion, or finally managing to arrange something.

Have vs get: In most everyday contexts they are interchangeable: I had / got my hair cut. Use get in informal speech and when emphasising that arranging it took some effort. Use have in slightly more neutral or formal contexts.

Unplanned or unfortunate events

Have/get something done can also describe something bad that happened to you, where you did not arrange it at all:

Context tells you whether the action was arranged (a service) or suffered (a misfortune).

Make, Let and Have + Person

A second causative family describes causing or allowing a person to act. Here the structure changes: make, let and have are followed by an object and the bare infinitive (the infinitive without to).

Verb Structure Meaning Example
make make + sb + bare infinitive force / compel The teacher made us write an essay.
let let + sb + bare infinitive allow / permit My parents let me stay out late.
have have + sb + bare infinitive arrange / instruct I had the plumber check the pipes.
get get + sb + to-infinitive persuade / cause I got the plumber to check the pipes.

Notice the crucial pattern difference: make, let and have take the bare infinitive, but get takes the to-infinitive.

Make in the passive: When make becomes passive, the to reappears: We were made to wait for an hour. Compare the active They made us wait (bare infinitive) with the passive We were made to wait (to-infinitive).

Let vs allow / permit

Let takes the bare infinitive, but its more formal synonyms allow and permit take the to-infinitive:

The Causative Passive

The structure have something done is itself a kind of passive: the object of the action comes first, and the doer is unimportant or unknown. You can name the agent with by if you wish:

Compare the ordinary passive with the causative passive:

Structure Example Focus
Active A mechanic repaired my car. The mechanic (doer)
Ordinary passive My car was repaired. The car; doer hidden
Causative passive I had my car repaired. I arranged it; doer hidden

Common Mistakes

Practice Exercises

Grammar Quiz

Choose the correct causative structure from the options.

Cloze Dropdown

Select have, get, make or let to complete each gap.

Complete the Sentence

Form the causative with the correct participle or infinitive.

Matching Pairs

Match active sentences with their causative equivalents.

Unjumble

Reorder words into correct causative sentences.

Flash Cards

Drill the patterns for have, get, make and let.

Practise Causative Verbs

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Explore related grammar topics:

All Grammar Topics Passive Voice Modal Verbs Reported Speech Conditionals

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a causative verb in English?
A causative verb shows that the subject does not do an action themselves but causes, arranges or allows someone else to do it. The main causative verbs are have, get, make and let. For example, I had my hair cut means a hairdresser cut your hair — you arranged the service rather than performing it yourself.
How do I form ‘have something done’?
Use have + object + past participle: I had my car repaired, She is having the house painted. The verb have changes for tense, but the second verb always stays as a past participle. You can add the doer with by: We had the documents translated by a professional.
What is the difference between ‘have something done’ and ‘get something done’?
They mean almost the same thing and are usually interchangeable: I had / got my hair cut. The difference is register: get something done is slightly more informal and can emphasise that arranging the service took effort or persuasion. Have something done is a little more neutral or formal. Both use the past participle.
Why is it ‘make him do’ but ‘get him to do’?
This is a key pattern difference. Make, let and have are followed by an object and the bare infinitive (no to): She made him apologise, They let us leave, I had him check it. But get is followed by the object and the to-infinitive: She got him to apologise, I got him to check it.
What is the difference between ‘make’ and ‘let’?
Make means to force or compel someone to do something against their will: The teacher made us write an essay. Let means to allow or permit someone to do something they want: My parents let me stay out late. Both take the bare infinitive in the active voice. Their meanings are almost opposite: make = force, let = allow.
Why does ‘to’ appear with ‘make’ in the passive?
In the active voice, make takes the bare infinitive: They made us wait. But when make becomes passive, the to reappears: We were made to wait. This is a fixed feature of the passive of make. Note that let is not usually made passive — we use be allowed to instead: We were allowed to leave.
Can causative structures describe bad things that happen to me?
Yes. Have/get something done can describe misfortunes that you did not arrange at all: She had her bag stolen on the train, He got his nose broken in the match. Here you clearly did not arrange the action — it happened to you. Context tells the listener whether the structure describes an arranged service or an unfortunate event.
What is the difference between ‘I cut my hair’ and ‘I had my hair cut’?
I cut my hair means you did the cutting yourself. I had my hair cut means someone else — usually a hairdresser — did it for you. Be careful not to confuse the causative I had my hair cut with the past perfect I had cut my hair, which means you had finished cutting it yourself before another past event. Word order changes the meaning completely.
How do ‘let’, ‘allow’ and ‘permit’ differ grammatically?
They have similar meanings (to give permission) but different patterns. Let takes the bare infinitive: They let us leave. Allow and permit, which are more formal, take the to-infinitive: They allowed / permitted us to leave. A common mistake is to write let us to leave — let never takes to.
What is the causative passive?
The causative passive is essentially the have/get something done structure, in which the object of the action comes first and the doer is unimportant, unknown or added with by: We had the house rewired (by an electrician). It differs from the ordinary passive (My car was repaired) by showing that the subject deliberately arranged the action: I had my car repaired.