Verb Causative Form
Expression of 'making' or 'letting' someone do an action.
What is the Causative Form?
The Causative Form is used to express that someone makes or lets another person do something. In Japanese, this single form covers both coercive (forcing) and permissive (allowing) meanings depending on the context. The sentence structure varies depending on whether the verb is intransitive or transitive.
To form the causative, we change the verb ending to -せる or -させる.
Change the -u vowel ending to -a and add -せる. For verbs ending in -u (like 買う), use -wa (買わせる).
| Dictionary Form | Causative Form |
|---|---|
く / ぐ / す / つ / ぬ / ぶ / む / る → あ段 + せる | |
待つまつ | 待たせるまたせる |
帰るかえる | 帰らせるかえらせる |
飲むのむ | 飲ませるのませる |
死ぬしぬ | 死なせるしなせる |
遊ぶあそぶ | 遊ばせるあそばせる |
書くかく | 書かせるかかせる |
泳ぐおよぐ | 泳がせるおよがせる |
話すはなす | 話させるはなさせる |
う → わせる | |
買うかう | 買わせるかわせる |
Conjugation Examples
- I will make my younger brother buy bread.
弟にパンを買わせます。
- The teacher made the students wait in the hallway.
先生は学生を廊下で待たせました。
- I'll let my friend return home early.
友達を早く帰らせてあげます。
When using an intransitive verb (like 行く, 来る, 遊ぶ), the person being 'made/let' to do the action is marked with the particle を.
[Subject] は [Agent] を [Verb-Causative]
Examples
- The mother made the child go to the supermarket.
お母さんは子供をスーパーへ行かせました。
- I let the dog run in the park.
公園で犬を走らせました。
- The teacher let the students play outside.
先生は学生を外で遊ばせました。
When using a transitive verb (like 買う, 食べる, 読む), the person doing the action is marked with the particle に to avoid having two を in the sentence.
[Subject] は [Agent] に [Object] を [Verb-Causative]
Examples
- The manager made the staff write a report.
部長は部下に報告書を書かせました。
- I let my younger sister use my computer.
妹に私のパソコンを使わせました。
- My mother made me drink milk every morning.
母は毎朝私に牛乳を飲ませます。