METU /SFL Spring 2023

DBE
GHO 3 UPPER-INTERMEDIATE GROUP
(Instructor's Copy)

CAUSATIVE VERBS

INTRODUCTION
Discuss the questions below with a partner.
1. Have you ever donated to charities?
2. Do you find charities reliable? What do you think charity fraud means?

Read the excerpt below, and do the following tasks.

A scam is a dishonest plan to trick someone into something that usually involves money. Cyber scams
are scams that are carried out online. This could be through things like dodgy e-mails and websites, or
fake accounts on social media. Popular cyber crimes include charity fraud, phishing (a type of cyber
attack where cybercriminals send mass e-mails out), and tech support scams (scams where people let
scammers access their computer thinking that they are representatives of a software company and that
they are helping them get rid of a virus).

Charity Fraud
Scammers have many tricks to make people part ways with their hard-earned money — they even scam
people out of their charitable donations. Charity fraud is where an imposter poses as a non-profit
organization that is seeking to do some good in the world. The scam attempts to get people to donate to
their cause. Typically, they have people make credit-card payments, Western Union payments, or gift
cards. These scams vary widely from disaster relief, which typically peaks after every disaster, to
veterans in need of help. Often pleas for help are posted on crowdfunding sites or social media sites.
This attack method attempts to exploit people’s charitable nature or desire to be helpful.

LANGUAGE
Causative verbs are used when one person or thing causes, enables, or allows another to do something.
You can see commonly-used causative verbs in the table below.
TASK 1. Fill in the blanks with model sentences from the excerpt.
 MAKE (sb. do sth.) is used when someone forces someone else to do something.
Example from the text:
Scammers have many tricks to make people part ways with their hard-earned money.

Other examples:
* I made my brother carry my suitcase. (= My brother had no choice. I forced him to carry my suitcase.)

* You can’t make him go if he doesn’t want to. (= You can’t force him to go if he doesn’t want to.)

The passive form of “make someone do something” is “be made to do something”.

* I was made to clean the board.

* The soldiers in the army are made to run every morning.

 HAVE (sb. do sth.) is used when someone asks/causes someone else to do something.
Example from the text:
Typically, they have people make credit-card payments, Western Union payments or gift cards.

Other examples:

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 * I had my brother carry my suitcase. (= I asked my brother to carry my suitcase, and he did.)

* I’ll have my assistant call you. (= I’ll ask my assistant to call you, and she will.)

The passive form of “have someone do something” is “have something done”. We usually use it
when we buy professional service.

* I never iron my clothes. I always have them ironed (by the cleaning lady).

* I had my photo taken at a studio.

* Your car is too dirty. You should have it washed.

 GET (sb. to do sth.) is used when someone persuades someone else to do something.
Example from the text:
The scam attempts to get people to donate to their cause.

Other examples:
* I got my brother to carry my suitcase. (= I persuaded my brother to carry my suitcase.)

* The students got the teacher to dismiss the class five minutes early. (= The class persuaded the
teacher to let them leave five minutes early.)

The passive form of “get someone to do something” is “get something done”. In this case, there is
usually no difference between “have” and “get.” That is, we also use “get something done” when we
buy professional service.

* I never iron my clothes. I always get them ironed (by the cleaning lady).

* I got my photo taken at a studio.

 LET (sb. do sth.) is used when someone allows someone else to do something.
Example from the text:
…scams where people let scammers access their computer

Other examples:
* My father lets me drive his car. (= My father allows me to drive his car.)

* She let me smoke in her room. (= She allowed me to smoke in her room.)

* Our teacher doesn’t let us leave early. (= Our teacher doesn’t allow us to leave early.)

”Let” doesn’t have a passive form, so we use “be allowed/permitted to” instead of “let” in the passive.

* We are allowed/permitted to use dictionaries in class.

* The students aren’t allowed/permitted to speak Turkish in class.

 HELP (sb. (to) do sth.):
Example from the text:
…they think a representative for a software company will help them get rid of a virus

Other examples:
* Can you help me (to) move this table?

* My brother helped me (to) do my homework.

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TASK 2. Read the text below, and underline the causative structures.
The Jamaican charity organization Project Reinforcements is working to address poverty issues. It
collects food from local businesses and distributes it to the people in need. It is currently raising funds
for a refrigerated truck that will allow it to expand the food types and amount it can collect. The
charity’s head, Travis Blackmore, says the program has grown a lot thanks to the volunteers and the new
regulations that permit them to expand their activities. They are now allowed to distribute almost a
million dollars worth of food annually. “We’re about to purchase the vehicle itself. We are also
considering hiring catering staff. Our goal is to have it done professionally,” says Blackmore.

TASK 2. Below is a table that summarizes the structures used with these verbs. Fill in the blanks to
complete the table.

FUNCTION VERB ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE

force force sb. to do sth. be forced to do sth.

force
make make sb. do sth. be made to do sth.
allow allow sb. to do sth. be allowed to do sth.

permission permit permit sb. to do sth. be permitted to do sth.

let let sb. do sth. be allowed/permitted to do

sth.
have have sb. do sth. have sth done
giving a job
get get sb. to do sth. get sth done
help help help sb. (to) do sth. sb. be helped to do sth.

TASK 3. Rewrite the following sentences using the words given in parentheses.
e.g., His parents didn’t let him go out on weekdays.

(allow) He wasn’t allowed to go out on weekdays.

(allow) His parents didn’t allow him to go out on weekdays.

1. Sue pays the cleaning lady to clean the windows every month.

(have) Sue has the cleaning lady clean the windows every month.

(have) Sue has the windows cleaned (by the cleaning lady) every month.

2. Please don’t insist that I cook dinner tonight.

(make) Please don’t make me cook dinner tonight.

3. We can’t speak Turkish in class.

(let) Our teacher doesn’t let us speak Turkish in class.

(allow) We are not allowed to speak Turkish in class.

4. The children had to stay in the room for two hours.

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 (make) The children were made to stay in the room for two hours.

(make) The teacher made the children stay in the room for two hours.

TASK 4. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs given in parentheses.

CHARITY AND VOLUNTEERING

There are a lot of charities or volunteer organizations that one can donate to. However, it isn’t always easy
(1) e.g., to get people to donate (get/donate) willingly. Some charities (2) get people to contribute
(get/contribute) by deducting a certain amount from their salaries. As a result, the money goes to the charity
before the employee even sees it. Some charities (4) have volunteers stand (have/stand) at intersections with
a can or a box, asking passing drivers to donate. Some public TV stations (5) help charities (to) raise
(help/raise) money with their programs. During the program, the station (6) has volunteers answer (have/
answer) phones to take the callers’ credit-card numbers. In addition to donating money, people can volunteer
their time. Some volunteers (7) help kids (to) learn (help/ learn) to read. Others (8) help elderly people (to) do
(help/do) daily chores. Helping others makes people feel good. To encourage people, the government (9) let(s)
people deduct (let/deduct) their contributions from their taxes.

TASK 5. Choose two of the causative structures from Task 2, and complete the sentences below using
those structures.

1. I am not good at fixing broken things at home, so _____________________________________

______________________________.
2. My parents think that I am too young to go out at night, and they don’t think I would safely
return home. Therefore, I _________________________________________________________.