A causative clause can contain three distinct participants: the causer who initiates the event, the causee who performs or undergoes the caused event, and a theme affected by it. Hindi marks these roles by combining ordinary aspect-sensitive ने with को or से. The labels do not attach permanently to people: case depends on the clause’s aspect and on each participant’s role.
For the broader inventory of causee marking, see causative argument marking. This page concentrates on the interaction of ने, को, and agreement.
The causer takes ने only in the perfective
In habitual, progressive, future, imperative, and subjunctive causatives, the causer is normally unmarked. It controls subject agreement where the form distinguishes agreement. In a canonical perfective transitive causative, that same causer takes ने.
| Aspect/TAM | Example frame | Causer marking |
|---|---|---|
| habitual masculine | अमन बच्चे को जगाता है | unmarked |
| habitual feminine | रीना बच्चे को जगाती है | unmarked |
| habitual plural | वे बच्चे को जगाते हैं | unmarked |
| progressive | रीना बच्चे को जगा रही है | unmarked |
| perfective | रीना ने बच्चे को जगाया | ने |
| future | रीना बच्चे को जगाएगी | unmarked |
अमन बच्चों को रोज़ योग कराता है।
aman baccoṃ ko roz yog karātā hai.
Aman has the children do yoga every day.
रीना बच्चों को रोज़ योग कराती है।
rīnā baccoṃ ko roz yog karātī hai.
Reena has the children do yoga every day.
रीना ने बच्चों को आज योग कराया।
rīnā ne baccoṃ ko āj yog karāyā.
Reena had the children do yoga today.
English subject order stays constant across these translations. Hindi ने appears because the last event is perfective, not because Reena suddenly becomes “more agentive.”
को marks an affected or animate causee
With direct causatives, the participant made to undergo or perform the event is frequently marked by को, especially when human, animate, specific, or strongly affected: बच्चे को सुलाना, मरीज़ को दवा पिलाना, छात्रों को कविता पढ़ाना.
पिता ने बेटी को सामने बिठाया।
pitā ne beṭī ko sāmne biṭhāyā.
The father seated his daughter in front.
नर्स मरीज़ों को समय पर दवा पिलाती है।
nars marīzoṃ ko samay par davā pilātī hai.
The nurse gives the patients their medicine on time.
अध्यापिका ने छात्रों को नई कविता पढ़ाई।
adhyāpikā ne chātroṃ ko naī kavitā paṛhāī.
The teacher taught the students a new poem.
In the final sentence, छात्रों को is the causee/learner, while unmarked feminine कविता is the theme and controls perfective पढ़ाई. The caused participant is semantically central but grammatically unavailable for agreement because it bears को.
से commonly marks an intermediary doer
Indirect causatives often present the person who actually performs the task with से: मिस्त्री से ठीक करवाना, छात्रों से निबंध लिखवाना. The से phrase is an oblique causee or intermediary and never controls ordinary agreement.
प्रबंधक ने सहायक से पत्र लिखवाया।
prabandhak ne sahāyak se patr likhvāyā.
The manager had the assistant write the letter.
अध्यापिका ने छात्रों से तीन कविताएँ लिखवाईं।
adhyāpikā ne chātroṃ se tīn kavitāẽ likhvāīṃ.
The teacher had the students write three poems.
हम मकान मालिक से नल ठीक करवाएँगे।
ham makān mālik se nal ṭhīk karvāẽge.
We will have the landlord get the tap repaired.
The second sentence has अध्यापिका ने as ergative causer, छात्रों से as caused writers, and unmarked feminine plural कविताएँ as the agreement controller of लिखवाईं. The future करवाएँगे in the third agrees with plural हम, because future clauses do not use perfective ने.
The को/से distribution is not reducible to “direct equals को, indirect equals से” in every lexeme. Animacy, affectedness, control, and conventional argument frames matter. Learn frequent verbs with their causee marking rather than changing postpositions mechanically.
Perfective agreement follows case, not causal importance
Once ने marks the causer, look for an unmarked direct object. If one exists, it may control the perfective participle. If the only possible objects are को-marked, use default masculine singular.
| Clause | Eligible controller | Result |
|---|---|---|
| माँ ने बच्ची को सुलाया | none; बच्ची has को | default masculine singular |
| माँ ने बच्ची को दवा पिलाई | दवा, feminine singular | पिलाई |
| माँ ने बच्ची को दो गाने सुनाए | गाने, masculine plural | सुनाए |
| माँ ने बच्ची को वह गाना सुनाया | गाना, masculine singular | सुनाया |
माँ ने दोनों बच्चों को सुलाया।
mā̃ ne donoṃ baccoṃ ko sulāyā.
The mother put both children to sleep.
माँ ने दोनों बच्चों को गर्म चाय पिलाई।
mā̃ ne donoṃ baccoṃ ko garm cāy pilāī.
The mother gave both children hot tea to drink.
दादी ने पोती को दो पुराने गीत सुनाए।
dādī ne potī ko do purāne gīt sunāe.
Grandmother sang/told her granddaughter two old songs.
Neither natural gender nor causal prominence overrides case. Feminine बच्ची/पोती with को cannot select feminine agreement; unmarked चाय can.
Negation, questions, and layered predicates
Polarity and interrogation do not change participant roles. TAM morphology remains outside the causative stem.
रीना बच्चों से आज निबंध नहीं लिखवा रही है।
rīnā baccoṃ se āj nibandh nahīṃ likhvā rahī hai.
Reena is not having the children write an essay today.
क्या आपने मिस्त्री से खिड़कियाँ ठीक करवाईं?
kyā āpne mistrī se khiṛkiyā̃ ṭhīk karvāīṃ?
Did you have the repair worker fix the windows? (respectful)
बच्चों को यह प्रयोग कौन कराएगा?
baccoṃ ko yah prayog kaun karāegā?
Who will have the children perform this experiment?
In लिखवा रही है, indirect causative लिखवा- is followed by feminine progressive रही and the present auxiliary. In करवाएँगे, the same stem would take future morphology. The postpositions organize participants; they do not replace aspect, tense, or agreement layers.
Common Mistakes
Adding ने to a habitual causer
❌ रीना ने बच्चों को हर सुबह योग कराती है।
Incorrect — habitual present does not license perfective ने.
✅ रीना बच्चों को हर सुबह योग कराती है।
rīnā baccoṃ ko har subah yog karātī hai.
Reena has the children do yoga every morning.
Omitting ने in a canonical perfective
❌ रीना बच्चों को कल योग कराया।
Incorrect in the canonical perfective transitive pattern.
✅ रीना ने बच्चों को कल योग कराया।
rīnā ne baccoṃ ko kal yog karāyā.
Reena had the children do yoga yesterday.
Agreeing with a को-marked causee
❌ पिता ने बेटी को बिठाई।
Incorrect — बेटी को cannot control agreement, so default masculine singular is required.
✅ पिता ने बेटी को बिठाया।
pitā ne beṭī ko biṭhāyā.
The father seated his daughter.
Agreeing with a से-marked intermediary
❌ मैंने महिला मिस्त्री से नल ठीक करवाई।
Incorrect — masculine नल, not महिला मिस्त्री से, controls agreement.
✅ मैंने महिला मिस्त्री से नल ठीक करवाया।
maĩne mahilā mistrī se nal ṭhīk karvāyā.
I had a female repair worker fix the tap.
Missing agreement with an unmarked theme
❌ अध्यापिका ने छात्रों से कविताएँ लिखवाया।
Incorrect — unmarked feminine plural कविताएँ controls the participle.
✅ अध्यापिका ने छात्रों से कविताएँ लिखवाईं।
adhyāpikā ne chātroṃ se kavitāẽ likhvāīṃ.
The teacher had the students write poems.
Key Takeaways
The causer takes ने only in canonical perfective transitive causatives. An animate affected causee often takes को, while an intermediary doer commonly takes से. In perfective agreement, neither oblique participant controls the predicate; an unmarked theme does, and default masculine singular appears when no eligible controller remains.
Related Topics
- Causative argument markingC1 — Assign ने, को, and से to the causer, affected participant, intermediary, and patient in Hindi causative clauses.
- Direct causatives in -ā-B2 — Form and use Hindi -ā- causatives for direct, closely controlled causation while tracking lexical stem changes and ordinary agreement.
- Indirect causatives in -vā-B2 — Use Hindi -vā- causatives to present an arranged, mediated, or delegated event, with the causative stem carrying ordinary TAM and agreement.
- Causative passivesC1 — Build passives from causative stems while keeping the causer, intermediary, affected participant, agreement, and TAM layers distinct.
- ने as perfective ergative markerA2 — Learn when perfective transitive clauses mark their agent with ने, how split ergativity differs from past tense, and which phrase controls agreement.
- Agreement with को-marked objectsA2 — Understand why a Hindi object marked with को cannot control agreement and how the remaining clause structure selects subject agreement or default form.