Causative passives | Hindi Grammar

A causative stem can itself be passivized: सिखाना → सिखाया जाना “to be taught,” करवाना → करवाया जाना “to be got done.” The causative layer adds a causer or intermediary; the passive layer then backgrounds that higher initiator and promotes an eligible affected participant. Because several participant roles are possible, causative passives require careful attention to case and agreement.

This page builds on the ordinary passive stem plus -आ जाना. The passive machinery is the same, but the lexical input is already causative.

Causative stem first, passive layer second

Form the causative stem, make its agreeing perfective participle, and add passive जाना. Do not attach a passive ending directly to the noncausative base.

Causative infinitive	Masculine singular passive	Feminine singular passive	Masculine plural passive
सिखाना	सिखाया जाना	सिखाई जानी	सिखाए जाने
पिलाना	पिलाया जाना	पिलाई जानी	पिलाए जाने
कराना	कराया जाना	कराई जानी	कराए जाने
करवाना	करवाया जाना	करवाई जानी	करवाए जाने
लिखवाना	लिखवाया जाना	लिखवाई जानी	लिखवाए जाने

स्कूल में बच्चों को तीन भाषाएँ सिखाई जाती हैं।

skūl meṃ baccoṃ ko tīn bhāṣāẽ sikhāī jātī haiṃ.

Children are taught three languages at the school.

छोटे बच्चों को दवा चम्मच से पिलाई जाती है।

choṭe baccoṃ ko davā cammac se pilāī jātī hai.

Small children are given medicine with a spoon.

नए कर्मचारियों से यह अभ्यास कराया जाता है।

nae karmacāriyoṃ se yah abhyās karāyā jātā hai.

New employees are made to do this exercise.

The learners or recipients bear को/से and do not control agreement. Feminine plural भाषाएँ, feminine दवा, and masculine अभ्यास control the respective passive chains.

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Parse outward: lexical event लिख-, indirect causative लिखवा-, agreeing participle लिखवाया/लिखवाई, passive जा-, then aspect or tense. English “was made to write” or “was got written” rarely displays this architecture so clearly.

Agreement belongs to the promoted unmarked participant

The same agreement hierarchy applies as in simpler passives. An unmarked theme controls the lexical participle and passive जाना. A को-marked affected person is not eligible; when no eligible controller remains, the predicate is default masculine singular.

Passive subject or frame	Perfective causative passive	Agreement
निबंध	निबंध लिखवाया गया	masculine singular
कहानी	कहानी लिखवाई गई	feminine singular
निबंध	निबंध लिखवाए गए	masculine plural
कहानियाँ	कहानियाँ लिखवाई गईं	feminine plural
सीमा को	सीमा को बुलवाया गया	default masculine singular

सभी निबंध छात्रों से दोबारा लिखवाए गए।

sabhī nibandh chātroṃ se dobārā likhvāe gae.

The students were made to rewrite all the essays.

अंतिम कहानी अनुभवी लेखिका से लिखवाई गई।

antim kahānī anubhavī lekhikā se likhvāī gaī.

The final story was commissioned from an experienced female writer.

दोनों अभिनेत्रियों को मंच पर बुलवाया गया।

donoṃ abhinetriyoṃ ko mañc par bulvāyā gayā.

Both actresses were summoned to the stage.

Plural feminine अभिनेत्रियों को still produces default बुलवाया गया. The construction does not agree with natural gender or plurality once को blocks the participant.

Direct and indirect causative passives differ in perspective

A passive of a direct causative commonly describes what was taught, fed, shown, seated, or made to happen. A passive of an indirect causative highlights that someone arranged for another agent to perform the task. The extra -व- remains meaningful even though the highest causer is omitted.

मरीज़ को नई दवा पिलाई गई।

marīz ko naī davā pilāī gaī.

The patient was given the new medicine to drink.

इमारत की जाँच बाहर के विशेषज्ञों से करवाई गई।

imārat kī jā̃c bāhar ke viśeṣagyoṃ se karvāī gaī.

An inspection of the building was commissioned from outside experts.

समारोह के लिए विशेष भोजन पकवाया गया।

samāroh ke lie viśeṣ bhojan pakvāyā gayā.

Special food was commissioned for the ceremony.

The English translation often sounds smoother without an explicit “cause to” or “arrange to.” That does not erase the Hindi causative morphology. जाँच की गई merely reports an inspection; जाँच करवाई गई additionally presents it as arranged or commissioned.

Aspect, tense, and modality remain outside

Once the causative passive core is formed, passive जाना carries the usual habitual, progressive, perfective, future, subjunctive, and modal layers.

Viewpoint	Masculine singular form
habitual	करवाया जाता है
progressive	करवाया जा रहा है
perfective	करवाया गया
present perfect	करवाया गया है
future	करवाया जाएगा
subjunctive	करवाया जाए
obligation	करवाया जाना चाहिए

सभागार की मरम्मत अभी करवाई जा रही है।

sabhāgār kī marammat abhī karvāī jā rahī hai.

The auditorium is being repaired through an arranged service now.

सभी कमरों की सफ़ाई शाम तक करवा दी जाएगी।

sabhī kamroṃ kī safāī śām tak karvā dī jāegī.

All the rooms will be cleaned by this evening.

ज़रूरी है कि मशीन की जाँच किसी विशेषज्ञ से करवाई जाए।

zarūrī hai ki maśīn kī jā̃c kisī viśeṣagya se karvāī jāe.

It is essential that the machine be inspected by a specialist.

The future example contains causative करवा-, completive vector दे-, passive जा-, and feminine future -एगी. Treating the entire English future passive as one Hindi “tense” hides these productive layers.

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A causative passive can sound administratively heavy. It is natural when arrangements, procedures, or commissioned work matter. In casual speech, an active causative such as हमने मिस्त्री से नल ठीक करवाया is often clearer when the arranger is relevant.

Negation and questions

Negation normally precedes the passive complex. Questions preserve both the causative stem and passive carrier.

इस बार छात्रों से अतिरिक्त काम नहीं करवाया जाएगा।

is bār chātroṃ se atirikt kām nahīṃ karvāyā jāegā.

The students will not be made to do extra work this time.

क्या सभी खिड़कियाँ मिस्त्री से ठीक करवाई गईं?

kyā sabhī khiṛkiyā̃ mistrī se ṭhīk karvāī gaīṃ?

Did they have the repair worker fix all the windows?

यह घोषणा किससे करवायी गई थी?

yah ghoṣṇā kisse karvāī gaī thī?

Who was made or asked to make this announcement?

The spelling करवाई is preferred in this guide; करवायी also occurs in edited Hindi. The target sentence deliberately shows that recognized spelling variant. Spelling choice does not change the syntax or pronunciation given here.

Common Mistakes

Dropping the passive carrier

❌ इमारत की जाँच विशेषज्ञों से करवाई।

Incomplete as an agentless passive — without गई, this needs an active causer.

✅ इमारत की जाँच विशेषज्ञों से करवाई गई।

imārat kī jā̃c viśeṣagyoṃ se karvāī gaī.

The building was inspected by specialists through an arranged inspection.

Omitting the causative layer

❌ प्रबंधक द्वारा बाहर की एजेंसी से जाँच की गई।

Wrong for the intended ‘The manager arranged for an outside agency to inspect it’ — the intermediary reading requires करवाना.

✅ प्रबंधक द्वारा बाहर की एजेंसी से जाँच करवाई गई।

prabandhak dvārā bāhar kī ejensī se jā̃c karvāī gaī.

The manager arranged for an outside agency to conduct the inspection. (formal)

Agreeing with a को-marked person

❌ अभिनेत्रियों को मंच पर बुलवाई गईं।

Incorrect — को blocks agreement, so use default masculine singular.

✅ अभिनेत्रियों को मंच पर बुलवाया गया।

abhinetriyoṃ ko mañc par bulvāyā gayā.

The actresses were summoned to the stage.

Changing only the final passive form

❌ कहानियाँ लिखवाया गईं।

Incorrect — the causative participle must also be feminine.

✅ कहानियाँ लिखवाई गईं।

kahāniyā̃ likhvāī gaīṃ.

The stories were commissioned.

Using the passive infinitive as a finite future

❌ मरम्मत कल करवाई जाना।

Incorrect as a finite prediction — the passive infinitive lacks future marking.

✅ मरम्मत कल करवाई जाएगी।

marammat kal karvāī jāegī.

The repair will be arranged tomorrow.

Key Takeaways

Build a causative passive from the causative stem, its agreeing participle, and passive जाना. The promoted unmarked theme controls agreement; को- or से-marked participants do not. Habitual, progressive, perfective, future, mood, and modality are outer layers, and indirect -व- continues to signal arranged or mediated causation inside the passive.

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