Ch 35 · Lesson 9Spanish · Chapter 35 · Lesson 9 · Grammar primer
Causative hacer: me hizo esperar, lo or le
+ infinitive for make or have someone do it ( , ), the or switch, and .
The short version
.
Why?Hide
With plus an infinitive, the person you push around is normally a direct object while the infinitive has no object of its own: ( is also heard, especially in Spain). Give the infinitive its own object and the person is bumped to indirect: . Word for word, I made to-him fix the car. Odd to English ears, perfectly regular in Spanish.
Nothing goes between
.
Why?Hide
, and go straight onto the infinitive: , . , no a, . Only the longer takes , and then the verb is subjunctive: .
The causative verbs at a glance
All of them share one shape: the verb, then the infinitive. Only the person affected changes.
| Verb | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
. | He/She made me wait. | |
. | I had him/her fix the car. | |
. | They let me in. | |
. | The doctor told me to rest. | |
. | Smoking is not allowed. | |
. | They banned him/her from driving. |
How much choice the person has decides the verb:
- Me hizo salir.made me go out
- Me mandó salir.told me to go out
- Me dejó salir.let me go out
Hacer + infinitive: make someone do it
+ infinitive covers English "make" (force) and "have" (arrange):
| Use | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| force | . | He/She made me wait an hour. |
| force | . | The teacher made us redo the exercise. |
| a cause | . | That song makes me cry. |
| a cause | . | The sun makes the plants grow. |
| arrange | . | I had the technician come round. |
Nothing goes between and the infinitive: never " a " or " ". A noun doer usually comes after the infinitive: . - He/She made everyone laugh.
The longer version, + subjunctive, means the same and suits a long clause:
.- He/She made everyone wait.
Lo or le: the pronoun switch
The person you make act is a pronoun, and which one depends on the infinitive:
| Infinitive | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| no object | . | I made him work. |
| no object | . | I made her wait. |
| its own object | . | I had him/her fix the car. |
| its own object | . | I had them sign the contract. |
When the infinitive already has a direct object, the person moves to the indirect one. With a bare infinitive, is also correct and very common, especially in Spain ( , he/she made him/her laugh); the RAE accepts both, and and are the safe choice.
With me, , and the question never arises, because one form does both jobs:
.- He/She made me wait..- He/She made me fix the car.
Hacerse + infinitive: having it done
+ infinitive says something was done to you by someone else:
.- I had my hair cut..- He/She had a knee operation.
In everyday speech the plain reflexive is commoner, and it need not mean you did it yourself:
.- I had my hair cut. (or: I cut my hair)
For something made for you, use : . - I had a suit made.
Going further: Dejar: let and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
10-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
Spanish · Free printables
Worksheets for this lesson
Worksheets with answer keys built in. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekLesson 9 of 27 in this chapter