Causatif ~ French Causative
Faire + Infinitive
The causative construction faire
+ infinitive is used to describe when someone/something has
something done, causes something to happen, or makes someone do
something.
| A. | To have something done, to make something happen to something | ||
| 1. | Je fais laver la voiture. | I'm having the car washed. | |
| 2. | Le vent fait tomber les feuilles. | The wind makes the leaves fall. | |
| 3. | Les orages font pleurer mes enfants. | Storms make my children cry. | |
| B. | To have/make someone (an agent) do something | ||
|
1. |
If the phrase does not have a receiver (something acted upon), use faire + infinitive + agent | ||
| a. Je fais écrire David. | I'm having David write. | ||
| b. Il fait manger sa fille. | He makes his daughter eat. | ||
|
2. |
If the phrase has a receiver, use faire + infinitive + receiver + par or à + agent. | ||
| a. Je fais laver la voiture par David. | I'm having David wash the car. | ||
| b. Il fait réparer la machine à son fils. | He's having his son fix the machine. | ||
| C. | Direct object and direct object pronoun: When using the causative, there is always a direct object, either the agent or the receiver. When replacing the direct object with an object pronoun, the pronoun must be placed in front of faire. | ||
| 1. | Je fais écrire une lettre / Je la fais écrire. | I'm having a letter written / I'm having it written. | |
| 2. | Je fais écrire David / Je le fais écrire. | I'm having David write / I'm having him write. | |
| Pretty straightforward, right? Here's the tricky part: | |||
| D. | When there are two objects, the object of the infinitive (the receiver) is the direct object and the object of faire (the agent) is the indirect object. Note that this means that the agent who was the direct object in example C2 above turns into the indirect object. |
||
| 1. | Je fais écrire une lettre par David / Je la lui fais écrire. | I'm having David write a letter / I'm having him write it. | |
| 2. | Il fait manger les pommes par sa fille / Il les lui fait manger. | He's making his daughter eat the apples / He's making her eat them. | |
| 3. | Nous faisons visiter la ferme à nos enfants / Nous la leur faisons visiter. | We have our children visit the farm / We have them visit it. | |
| Note: | Normally when a compound tense is preceded by a direct object, there needs to be agreement (learn more). However, this is not the case with the causative - there is no direct object agreement. | ||
| Il a fait travailler les enfants / Il les a fait travailler. | He made the children work / He made them work. | ||
| J'ai fait étudier Christine / Je l'ai fait étudier. | I made Christine study / I made her study. | ||
|
Introduction to faire Faire expressions |
The free, twice-weekly About French newsletter keeps you informed about changes to this site, including new lessons, articles, and forum discussions. Subscribe today!
|
