English Mastery
Module 6 · Mini Grammar Essentials

Causative Verbs — Let, Make, Have, Get

Advanced50 min25 questions7 sections
Step 1

Quick Look

The manager’s grammar. Causatives describe work you cause to happen through others: LET (permit), MAKE (force), HAVE (assign), GET (persuade / get done). One structure here is worth the whole chapter: HAVE/GET + thing + V3 — ‘I had the car serviced’, ‘She got the walls painted’ — the professional way to say the work was done FOR you, not BY you.
Sentence TypeStructure + Example
LET / MAKE + person + BARE verb
Let me explain. / The guard made everyone sign.
HAVE + person + BARE verb • GET + person + TO verb
I had the plumber check the tank. / I got him to agree.
HAVE/GET + THING + V3
We had the documents notarised. / He got his hair cut. (done by someone else)

The golden rule: ‘I cut my hair’ means YOU held the scissors. ‘I HAD my hair cut’ / ‘I GOT my hair cut’ means the barber did. Whenever a professional does the work — service, repair, notarise, paint, print — English demands have/get + thing + V3. Saying ‘I serviced my car’ when you mean the mechanic did is the classic self-promotion error.

Four levers: who does the work?
BOSSLEVERDOERTO ?ACTIONHer fatherlethertojointhe family firm permissionThe officermadeustowaitfor two hoursforceIhadthe plumbertocheckthe tank assignWegotthe sellertoagreeon 92 persuade
Let, make and have take the bare verb; only get keeps ‘to’.
Step 2

When to Use It

PERMISSION activelethertojoinpassivewas allowedtojoin
Use 1

LET — permission (bare verb, always)

Allow someone to act. No ‘to’, no exceptions. Passive uses be allowed to.
  • Let the buyer inspect everything — we have nothing to hide.
  • Her father let her join the family firm at 22.
  • They weren’t allowed to park inside. (passive of let)
FORCE‘to’ comes back!activemadeustowaitpassivewere madetowait
Use 2

MAKE — force or cause (bare verb; passive brings ‘to’ back)

Compel someone. Watch the passive trap: was made TO wait.
  • The officer made us wait for two hours.
  • His speech made everyone laugh.
  • We were made to sign three undertakings. (passive to returns!)
ASSIGN you arrange it,they do ithadthe surveyorre-measure
Use 3

HAVE + person + bare verb — assigning tasks

Neutral delegation — you arranged it; they did it.
  • I’ll have the office boy drop the file at your desk.
  • She had the surveyor re-measure the frontage.
  • Have the electrician check the earthing before possession.
PERSUADE 92? effort andconvincinggotthe sellertoagree
Use 4

GET + person + TO + verb — persuading

Some effort or convincing involved. The only causative that keeps ‘to’ with a person.
  • We finally got the seller to agree on 92.
  • Can you get your CA to call me today?
  • I got the tenant to clear both pending months.
SERVICE DONE hadthe carservicedthe thing receives the action
Use 5

HAVE/GET + thing + V3 — the professional-services structure

The star pattern. The thing receives the action; the doer often goes unmentioned.
  • We’re having the sale deed drafted by Tuesday.
  • Get the brochure printed before the expo.
  • He had the farmhouse whitewashed for the wedding.
  • I need to get my PAN details updated.
Who holds the scissors?
YOU DO THE WORKमैंने बाल काटेIcutmy hair you hold the scissorsA PROFESSIONAL DOES ITमैंने बाल कटवाएIhadmy haircut you sit back the barber doesHAVE / GET+THING+V3four jobs, one structure Ihadthe carserviced. Wehadthe documentsnotarised. Shegotthe wallspainted. Ineed togetmy PAN detailsupdated.
When a professional does the work, English uses have / get + thing + V3.
Step 3

Hindi Concept Note

अHindi Concept Noteहिंदी में समझिए
यह ‘करवाना’ की grammar है — काम आपने नहीं, आपके कहने पर किसी और ने किया:
LET = करने देना (bare verb): मुझे बोलने दो Let me speak।
MAKE = करवा ही देना / मजबूर करना (bare verb): उसने हमें इंतज़ार करवाया He made us wait। Passive में to लौट आता है: हमसे sign करवाया गया We were made TO sign।
HAVE + आदमी + bare verb = काम सौंपना: मैंने plumber से tank check करवाया I had the plumber check the tank।
GET + आदमी + TO + verb = मना कर करवाना: हमने seller को 92 पर मना लिया We got the seller to agree on 92।
और सोने का ढाँचा — HAVE/GET + चीज़ + V3 = ‘करवाया’ (किसी और से): बाल कटवाए got my hair cut; deed बनवाई had the deed drafted; गाड़ी service करवाई got the car serviced। ‘I serviced my car’ का मतलब है आपने ख़ुद पाना पकड़ा!
Step 4

Common Mistakes Hindi Speakers Make

Wrong
Right
Why
Please let me to complete the point.
Please let me complete the point.
Let + bare verb — no ‘to’, ever.
The manager made him to redo the file.
The manager made him redo the file.
Make + bare verb in the active voice.
We were made sign an undertaking.
We were made to sign an undertaking.
The passive of make brings ‘to’ back — the trap inside the trap.
I got the plumber fix the leak.
I got the plumber to fix the leak. / I had the plumber fix the leak.
Get + person needs ‘to’; have + person takes the bare verb. Two verbs, two rules.
I serviced my car yesterday. (the mechanic did it)
I got/had my car serviced yesterday.
Work done by a professional have/get + thing + V3.
She had her documents attest from the notary.
She had her documents attested by the notary.
The thing receives the action V3 (attested).
Step 5

Signal Words

The four levers:
Permission let + person + V1
Force make + person + V1 (passive: made TO)
Assign have + person + V1Persuade get + person + TO + V1
Service done have/get + thing + V3 (the karvana structure)
Step 6

Practice

Set A

Fill in the blanks

0 / 10
  1. 1
    (let) me (show) you the roof rights clause first.
  2. 2
    The society made every vendor (submit) police verification.
  3. 3
    I’ll have the driver (pick) you up from the metro.
  4. 4
    We finally got the co-owner (sign) the consent letter.
  5. 5
    She’s getting the interiors (do) by a Delhi firm.
  6. 6
    He had his eyes (test) last week — new glasses coming.
  7. 7
    Don’t (make) the client (wait) in the sun; open the site office.
  8. 8
    We were made (deposit) the keys with the RWA. (passive!)
  9. 9
    Get the agreement (vet) before Friday.
  10. 10
    They wouldn’t let us (take) photographs of the basement.
Set B

Correct the mistake

0 / 8
  1. 11
    The teacher let the students to leave early.
  2. 12
    His jokes made everyone to laugh in the middle of the meeting.
  3. 13
    I had the electrician to replace the MCB.
  4. 14
    We got the painter finish both floors in a week.
  5. 15
    I cut my hair at the new salon yesterday. (the barber cut it)
  6. 16
    She had the invitation cards print from Naveen Press.
  7. 17
    The guard was made stand outside for hours. (passive)
  8. 18
    Let’s get the water tank cleaning before Holi. (the karvana structure)
Set C

Translate into English

0 / 7
  1. 19
    मुझे जाने दो।
  2. 20
    उसने बच्चों को हँसा दिया।
  3. 21
    मैंने plumber से नल ठीक करवाया। (have + person)
  4. 22
    हमने उसे किसी तरह मना लिया... मतलब, sign करने के लिए राज़ी कर लिया।
  5. 23
    मैंने बाल कटवाए।
  6. 24
    deed का draft बनवा लो। (get + thing)
  7. 25
    हमसे तीन जगह sign करवाए गए। (passive)
Step 7

Answer Key

Show answersHide answers
Answers · Set A
1
Let ... show
2
submit
3
pick
4
to sign
5
done
6
tested
7
make ... wait
8
to deposit
9
vetted
10
take
Answers · Set B
11
The teacher let the students leave early. (Let + bare verb.)
12
His jokes made everyone laugh in the middle of the meeting.
13
I had the electrician replace the MCB. (Have + person + bare verb.)
14
We got the painter to finish both floors in a week. (Get + person + to.)
15
I got/had my hair cut at the new salon yesterday.
16
She had the invitation cards printed by Naveen Press. (Thing + V3.)
17
The guard was made to stand outside for hours. (Passive of make to.)
18
Let’s get the water tank cleaned before Holi. (Get + thing + V3.)
Answers · Set C
19
Let me go.
20
He made the children laugh. / His words made everyone laugh.
21
I had the plumber fix the tap.
22
We somehow got him to agree. / We finally got him to sign.
23
I got my hair cut. / I had my hair cut.
24
Get the deed drafted. / Have the draft of the deed prepared.
25
We were made to sign in three places.

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Next up · Chapter 9Active vs. Passive Voice

When to hide the doer, the full tense conversion table, and the verbs that refuse the passive entirely.