Causatives Test Exercises – Multiple Choice Questions With Answers – Advanced Level 27

Make + object + bare infinitive means 'force someone to do something': makes her brothers tidy. The word always shows a present habit, so we need makes. Not get / tidy: get needs to (get someone to tidy).

Have + person + bare infinitive means arranging for someone to do a job for you: have the painter paint their house. Every year shows a present habit, and The Harrisons is plural, so have. Not get / paint: get needs to (get the painter to paint).

In the active voice, make + object takes a bare infinitive: made the criminal talk. Not to talk, which is used only in the passive (The criminal was made to talk).

Get + person + to-infinitive means persuading someone to do something: got her older sister to iron her clothes. Yesterday requires the past form got. Not got / iron: after get we need to. Only make, let and have take the bare infinitive.

After the modal will, we need the base form make, and make + object takes a bare infinitive: make his brother buy a watch. Not get / buy: get needs to (get his brother to buy).

Make + object + bare infinitive shows force against someone's wishes. The clause though he wanted to wear sportswear shows he didn't want to, and wanted is past, so made him wear. Not makes / wear, because the tense must match the past.

The passive causative is have + object + past participle. Someone else did the job for Ali: had his credit card changed. Not got / change: with a thing as the object, we need the past participle (got it changed).

Make + object + adjective means 'cause someone to feel or become': makes her nervous. Not makes / nervously: we need an adjective describing her, not an adverb.

Active causative have + person + bare infinitive: had his secretary type the documents. Not got / type: get needs to (got his secretary to type). Not had / typed: the past participle follows a thing, not a person (had the documents typed).

Active causative have + person + bare infinitive: have the interior designer decorate the house. Not get / decorate: get needs to (get the designer to decorate). Not have / decorated: the past participle follows a thing (have the house decorated).

Make + object + bare infinitive is used when something causes an involuntary reaction: The pain made her cry out. Not got / to cry out: get suggests persuasion, which does not fit a feeling like pain.

Make + object + bare infinitive shows force. The clue if he does not do this work willingly shows that the boss will force him: make him do it. Not let / do, which means 'allow' and contradicts the idea of forcing him.

Get + person + to-infinitive means persuading someone: I couldn't get him to make up his mind. After couldn't we need the base form get. Not let / to make: let takes a bare infinitive and means 'allow'.

Have + thing + past participle shows that the job is done or arranged: have their musical instruments tuned. Not make / tune: make is followed by a person who does the action, and instruments cannot tune themselves.

The passive causative have + object + past participle is used for a service someone does for you: When did you have your bank accounts checked? Not have / check: the accounts don't do the checking, so we need the past participle.

Let + person + bare infinitive means 'allow': Mum does not let me have sweets very often. Not get / have: get needs to, and the meaning here is permission, not persuasion.

Make + person + bare infinitive: by talking about it day and night, the boy forced his father to repair the bicycle, so made his father repair. Not had / repaired: the past participle follows a thing, not a person (had his bicycle repaired).

Let + person + bare infinitive means 'allow': doesn't let me smoke. Not get / to smoke: get means persuading, and the sentence is about permission.

Make + person + bare infinitive: Mrs White made her daughter wash the dishes. Not got / wash: get needs to. Not let / to wash: let is never followed by to.

Let + person + into a place means 'allow someone to enter': won't let you into the centre. The clue without your card points to permission. Not make, which would mean forcing you to go in.

Make + person + bare infinitive means 'cause or force': I can't make you believe it. Not get or force: both need to (get you to believe, force you to believe). Not allow, which also needs to.

Active causative have + person + bare infinitive is used for arranging a job: had the gardener cut the grass. Not got / cut: get needs to (got the gardener to cut).

Passive causative have + thing + past participle: have my hair cut (a hairdresser does it). Here cut is the past participle. Not get / to cut: with a thing as the object, we need the past participle, not to.

Make + person + bare infinitive: we can make Jane and Jill cook the meal. Not get / cook: get needs to. Not have / cooked: the past participle follows a thing, not people (have the meal cooked).

Active causative have + person + bare infinitive: the boss will have you wash the car. Not get / wash: get needs to (get you to wash). Not get / washed: the past participle follows a thing (get the car washed).

Active causative have + person + bare infinitive: have the dentist check his teeth. Not get / checked: get the dentist checked would mean someone checks the dentist. With a person as the object, get needs to.

Passive causative have + thing + past participle: have my car sold, meaning someone at the dealership sells it for me. Not get / sell: with a thing as the object, we need the past participle (get my car sold).

Passive causative have + thing + past participle: have your teeth checked (by a dentist). Not get / check: we need the past participle checked, because the teeth don't do the checking.

Should have + past participle criticises a past action. Combined with the passive causative, this gives should have had the car repaired. Not made / repaired: make is not used with a thing + past participle in this sense.

Active causative have + person + bare infinitive: You should have him explain why… After should we need the base form have. Not get or have got: these need to (get him to explain). Not allow, which also needs to.

Let + person + bare infinitive: let him paint the garden wall. Not to paint: let is never followed by to.

Active causative have + person + bare infinitive: I have the mechanic check my car's wheel balance. Not checked: the past participle follows a thing (I have my car's wheel balance checked).

Want + person + to-infinitive: I want my brother to turn on the radio. Unlike make, let and have, want always needs to.

Passive causative have + thing + past participle: have my house redecorated, meaning workers will do it for me. Not redecorate: the house doesn't do the action.

Let + person + bare infinitive means 'allow': doesn't let anyone enter the building. The clue without an invitation shows permission. Not let / to enter: let is never followed by to. Not allow / enter: allow needs to (allow anyone to enter).

Had better is followed by a bare infinitive, so have. Then comes the passive causative have + thing + past participle: You'd better have your hair cut. Not have / to cut: with a thing as the object, we need the past participle.

Make + object + adjective means 'cause someone to feel': made them furious. The subject is an action (His going on holiday), and made is the standard verb for causing emotions. Not let, which means 'allow' and is not used with adjectives like this.

Be allowed + to-infinitive is the passive of permission: We weren't allowed to take photographs. Let has no normal passive, so we use be allowed to instead. Not made: weren't made to would mean 'not forced', which doesn't fit the meaning.

Want + thing + past participle means 'want something done': didn't want my shoes polished. The boy kept holding the speaker's leg until the speaker gave in and allowed him: let him polish them (let + bare infinitive). Not want / to polish: shoes cannot polish, so we need the past participle.

Tell + person + to-infinitive gives an instruction: He told me to use formal words. Not told / use: tell needs to. Not made / to use: active make takes a bare infinitive. Not had / to use: have also takes a bare infinitive.