Le faire CausativeFSF4U

Le faire Causative

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Le faire Causative

• The French causative construction describes an action that is being caused—rather than performed—by the subject of the sentence:

• he/she/it is causing something to happen, having something done, or making someone do something.

Le faire Causative

• A causative sentence must have a subject (which may be a person or thing), the conjugated verb faire, and the infinitive of another verb, as well as at least one of these two things: a "receiver" (a person or thing being acted upon) and/or an "agent" (a person or thing being made to act).

Le faire Causative

1. Receiver onlyThe subject of the sentence makes something happen to the receiver:   subject + faire + infinitive + receiver

•  Je fais laver la voiture. I'm having the car washed.

•  Il fait réparer la machine. He's having the machine repaired.

• J'ai fait faire un gâteau. I had a cake made

Le faire Causative

2. Agent onlyThe subject makes the agent do something:   subject + faire + infinitive + agentNote that there is no preposition.*

• Je fais écrire David. I'm making David write.

• Il fait manger sa sœur. He makes his sister eat.

• Les orages font pleurer mes enfants. Storms make my children cry.

Le faire Causative

• 3. Receiver + Agent:The subject has the agent do something to the receiver:   subject + faire + infinitive + receiver + par or à* + agent

• Je fais laver la voiture par/à David. I'm having David wash the car.

• Vas-tu faire examiner les enfants par le/au médecin ? Are you going to have the doctor examine the kids?

Note that the agent is preceded by a preposition only when there is also a receiver; this is particularly important when they are both people, as in the final example, because it lets you know which is which.

Le faire Causative

• The causative is used reflexively (with a reflexive pronoun) to indicate that the subject has something done to himself or asks someone to do something to/for him.

• Je me fais coiffer deux fois par mois. I get my hair done (literally, "I get myself coiffed") twice a month.

•  Il se fait apporter le café chaque matin. He has [someone] bring him coffee, He has coffee brought to him every morning.

Le faire Causative

• Objects and object pronounsThe causative construction always has a direct object, which may be either the receiver or the agent. When replacing the direct object with an object pronoun, that pronoun is placed in front of faire.

• Je fais écrire une lettre. > Je la fais écrire. (lettre [la] is the receiver)   I'm having a letter written. > I'm having it written.

• Je fais écrire David. > Je le fais écrire. (David [le] is the agent)   I'm having David write. > I'm having him write.

Le faire Causative

AgreementNormally when a compound tense is preceded by a direct object, there needs to be agreement. However, this is not the case with the causative, which has no direct object agreement.

• Il a fait travailler les enfants. > Il les a fait travailler. (not "faits")   He made the children work. > He made them work.

• J'ai fait étudier Christine. > Je l'ai fait étudier. (not "faite")   I made Christine study. > I made her study.

Le faire Causative

• Textbook - p 125 Je pratique…

• Cahier – p 111-114 A, B, C, E, A