Causative Construction (to make/have + infinitive)

What is the Causative Construction (faire + infinitive)?

The French causative construction "faire + infinitive" is a way to say that someone causes, makes, arranges, or gets someone else to do something. Faire is conjugated; the second verb stays in the infinitive. In English this often corresponds to "make someone do something", "have something done", or "get someone to do something".

Short examples:
- Je fais réparer ma voiture. — I have (get) my car repaired.
- Le film m'a fait pleurer. — The movie made me cry.

When do I use it?

- To make or force someone to do something (coercion or strong influence):
- Ma mère me fait ranger ma chambre. — My mother makes me tidy my room.

- To arrange or hire someone to do something for you (have something done):
- Je fais réparer mon ordinateur. — I have my computer repaired / I get my computer fixed.

- To say that something causes an effect or reaction:
- Cette chanson me fait sourire. — This song makes me smile.

- To express that an event or force causes another action (the subject causes an action but does not perform it):
- La tempête a fait tomber plusieurs arbres. — The storm caused several trees to fall.

Note: an impersonal "il fait" + infinitive (e.g. "faire pleuvoir") can be used to mean "to cause to rain", but ordinary weather expressions usually use verbs like "pleuvoir" (il pleut).

How is it formed?

There are two main patterns you will meet often.

Pattern A — Make someone do something (the person who acts is expressed):
Formula: Subject + faire (conj.) + person (direct or indirect object) + infinitive + (complements)

- Le professeur fait lire les élèves. — The teacher makes the students read.
- Ma mère me fait étudier. — My mother makes me study.
- Elle lui a fait promettre de venir. — She made him promise to come.

When the person who performs the action is expressed with à (because the verb needs an indirect object), use à or the appropriate pronoun:
- Je fais écrire une lettre à Paul. — I make Paul write a letter.
- Je lui fais écrire une lettre. — I make him/her write a letter.

Pattern B — Have something done (agent unspecified or unimportant):
Formula: Subject + faire (conj.) + infinitive + object (the thing acted on) (+ par + agent to name who does it)

- Je fais réparer ma voiture. — I have my car repaired (someone repairs it for me).
- Nous faisons construire une maison. — We are having a house built.
- Je fais réparer ma montre par un horloger. — I have my watch repaired by a watchmaker.

Special case — double faire (faire + faire):
When the infinitive is itself "faire" (to have something made):
- Je fais faire des biscuits. — I get (someone) to make cookies.

Examples that show the difference

Making someone do something (causee expressed):
- Le professeur fait parler les élèves. — The teacher makes the students speak.
- Le film me fait pleurer. — The film makes me cry.
- Ils nous font attendre. — They make us wait.

Having something done (agent unspecified):
- Je fais réparer ma voiture demain. — I am having my car repaired tomorrow.
- Il a fait peindre la maison. — He had the house painted.

Specifying the person who does the action (add par + agent):
- Je fais réparer ma voiture par le garagiste. — I have the car repaired by the mechanic.
- Elle fait traduire le texte par une amie. — She has the text translated by a friend.

Pronouns and word order

Pronoun placement in causative constructions follows the general French rules for object pronouns, but because there are two verbs (faire + infinitive) it can appear tricky. Here are practical points and common, safe forms you will see.

- If the person who is made to act is replaced by a pronoun (the causee), that pronoun usually comes before the conjugated verb faire:
- Le professeur les fait lire. — The teacher makes them read.

- If the object of the infinitive (the thing acted on) is replaced by a direct object pronoun (le/la/les), that pronoun most often appears before the conjugated faire in everyday use:
- Je la fais réparer. — I have it (fem.) repaired.
- Je l'ai fait réparer hier. — I had it repaired yesterday. (past tense: pronoun before the auxiliary)

- Reflexive or indirect pronouns follow the normal order. When you have two pronouns, they follow the standard sequence (me/te/se/nous/vous → le/la/les → lui/leur → y → en):
- Je me les fais couper. — I get them (my hair) cut. (me + les + fais + couper)

- In compound tenses the pronoun goes before the auxiliary verb: Je l'ai fait réparer, Nous les avons fait venir.

- Imperative: affirmative imperatives attach pronouns with hyphens (watch the special forms of "moi/toi"):
- Fais-la réparer ! — Have it repaired!
- Fais-moi chanter ! — Make me sing!

If pronouns feel confusing, a safe strategy is to keep the full noun phrase (e.g., "ma voiture", "les élèves") until you are comfortable with pronoun placement.

Tenses and compound forms

Conjugate faire in the tense you need; the second verb stays in the infinitive.

- Present: Je fais réparer la porte. — I have the door repaired / I am having the door repaired.
- Passé composé: J'ai fait réparer la porte. — I had the door repaired.
- Imparfait: Je faisais réparer la maison. — I was having the house repaired.
- Futur: Je ferai réparer le toit demain. — I will have the roof repaired tomorrow.
- Conditional: Je ferais réparer la voiture si j'avais de l'argent. — I would have the car repaired if I had the money.
- Subjunctive (when required by a construction): Il faut que je fasse réparer ma voiture. — It is necessary that I have my car repaired.

Note: The infinitive after "faire" never agrees; you keep the infinitive form (réparer, écrire, etc.).

Negation and questions

- Negation places ne...pas (or other negative words) around the conjugated faire:
- Je ne fais pas réparer ma voiture. — I'm not having my car repaired.
- Le professeur ne les fait pas parler. — The teacher does not make them speak.

- Questions invert or use est-ce que as usual:
- Fais-tu réparer la porte ? — Are you having the door repaired?
- Est-ce que tu fais réparer la porte ? — Are you having the door repaired?

Common mistakes to avoid

- Don’t translate literally from English with "to": English says "I make him do it"; in French it is "Je le fais faire" or more commonly "Je le fais faire" (no "to"). Always use the infinitive directly after faire.

- Don’t confuse "faire + infinitive" with "faire + past participle" (passive causative) or with "avoir + past participle". These give different meanings:
- J'ai fait réparer ma montre. — I had my watch repaired (faire + infinitive, past tense).
- Je me suis fait voler mon sac. — I had my bag stolen (se faire + past participle — passive experience).
- J'ai eu ma montre réparée. — I had my watch repaired (avoir + past participle — a similar meaning, slightly different nuance).

- Watch pronoun order — it follows the usual French pronoun sequence. If unsure, keep full nouns.

- Don’t use "laisser" when you mean "make". "Laisser" means "to let/allow":
- Je fais travailler les enfants. — I make the children work.
- Je laisse les enfants travailler. — I let the children work.

Comparison with English causatives and other French structures

- English: "make + base verb" (She makes him cry) and "have + object + past participle" (I had my car fixed) map to French "faire + infinitive" and sometimes to "faire + past participle" or "avoir + past participle." Examples:
- She made him cry. → Elle l'a fait pleurer / Le film l'a fait pleurer.
- I had my car fixed. → J'ai fait réparer ma voiture / J'ai eu ma voiture réparée.

- "se faire + past participle" is passive/experiential (someone does something to me / I get something done):
- Je me suis fait couper les cheveux. — I got my hair cut (someone cut my hair).

- "laisser + infinitive" = to let/allow, not to make/arrange.

Comprehensive examples

Making someone do something (causee expressed)
- Le parent fait venir l'enfant au lit. — The parent makes the child come to bed.
- La prof leur fait réciter la poésie. — The teacher makes them recite the poem.
- Il me fait promettre de ne pas le dire. — He makes me promise not to tell.
- Le stress lui fait perdre sommeil. — Stress makes him lose sleep.

Having something done (agent unspecified)
- Je fais réparer mon téléphone demain. — I am having my phone repaired tomorrow.
- Elle a fait remplacer la fenêtre. — She had the window replaced.
- Nous faisons changer le tapis ce week-end. — We are having the carpet replaced this weekend.

Naming who does the work (par + agent)
- Nous faisons tondre la pelouse par un jardinier. — We have the lawn mowed by a gardener.
- Il a fait traduire le rapport par une agence spécialisée. — He had the report translated by a specialized agency.

Pronoun combinations
- Je les fais corriger par un tuteur. — I have them corrected by a tutor.
- Il me l'a fait dire. — He made me say it. (me + l' + a + fait + dire)
- Je me fais les cheveux couper. (colloquial: Je me fais couper les cheveux.) — I get my hair cut.

Imperative forms
- Fais-le sortir ! — Make him leave!
- Faites-lui écrire la lettre ! — Make him/her write the letter!
- Fais-moi préparer un café. — Make me prepare a coffee!

Tense variety
- Présent: Elle fait nettoyer sa maison chaque semaine. — She has her house cleaned every week.
- Passé composé: Elle a fait nettoyer sa maison hier. — She had her house cleaned yesterday.
- Imparfait: Elle faisait nettoyer la maison pendant que nous étions en vacances. — She was having the house cleaned while we were on vacation.
- Futur: Elle fera réparer la chaudière demain. — She will have the boiler repaired tomorrow.

Tips for learners

- Learn the basic formula: conjugate faire + infinitive. Practice with a few common verbs: réparer, construire, faire (faire faire), dire, écrire, traduire, cuire, venir.
- Use full noun phrases (ma voiture, les élèves) until pronoun placement becomes natural.
- Notice the difference in meaning between faire + infinitive (cause/arrange) and laisser + infinitive (allow) or se faire + past participle (get something done / passive experience).
- When in doubt about pronoun order, use the noun form: "Je fais réparer la voiture par le garagiste" instead of trying pronouns immediately.

Glossary (short)

- Causative: a construction that expresses causing someone to do something or getting something done.
- Faire + infinitive: the French causative pattern (faire conjugated + infinitive).
- Causee: the person who is made to do the action.
- Agent: the person who actually performs the action (may be unspecified or introduced with "par").
- Infinitive: the unconjugated verb form (réparer, écrire, venir...).

If you want, I can give a shorter cheat-sheet of the most frequent patterns or a carefully selected list of 30 practice sentences with answers (no exercises, just examples and corrections) to help you remember common uses.