Italian has a small family of constructions that let one person cause, permit, or arrange for another to act. They share a common architecture — a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive — but they differ in volition, in beneficiary, and in some surface details of how objects and clitics behave. This page is a consolidated reference: the four major members of the family, the rules they share, the rules they differ on, and a decision guide for choosing among them.
If you've already read the dedicated pages for fare + infinitive, farsi + infinitive, and lasciare + infinitive, this page is a synthesis. If you haven't, this page is a map of the territory before you dive into the details.
The family at a glance
| Construction | Meaning | Beneficiary | Volition of embedded subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| fare + infinitive | make / have / cause to do | Someone other than the subject (or unspecified) | Compelled or arranged |
| farsi + infinitive | get / have done for oneself | The subject | Compelled or arranged |
| lasciare + infinitive | let / allow to do | The embedded subject | Willing — already wants to act |
| permettere di + infinitive | permit / allow to do | The embedded subject | Willing — formal register |
The first three share an architecture (verb + bare infinitive); the fourth (permettere) takes the preposition di before the infinitive and behaves more like a regular verb of permission. We'll come back to that below.
Side-by-side: the same scenario in four constructions
Imagine: Marco wrote a letter. Different speakers describe the situation differently depending on who arranged it, who benefits, and whether Marco wanted to do it.
Faccio scrivere la lettera a Marco.
I'm having Marco write the letter. (I'm arranging it; Marco is doing the work; the letter goes to me or someone else.)
Mi faccio scrivere la lettera da Marco.
I'm having Marco write the letter for me. (The letter is for my benefit.)
Lascio scrivere la lettera a Marco.
I'm letting Marco write the letter. (Marco wants to write it; I'm not stopping him.)
Permetto a Marco di scrivere la lettera.
I permit Marco to write the letter. (Formal register; explicit permission.)
The same surface event — Marco writes a letter — generates four distinct descriptions in Italian, each capturing a different relationship between the speaker, Marco, and the action. English collapses most of these into "I had Marco write" or "I let Marco write." Italian forces precision.
Object marking: the central rule
This is the rule that unifies the fare, farsi, and lasciare constructions.
If the embedded verb has no direct object of its own, the embedded subject is marked as a direct object. If the embedded verb has its own direct object, the embedded subject is marked as an indirect object (with a or with gli/le).
| Embedded verb | Marking of embedded subject | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Intransitive (dormire, uscire, partire) | Direct object | Lo faccio dormire. (I make him sleep.) |
| Transitive (scrivere la lettera) | Indirect object | Gli faccio scrivere la lettera. (I make him write the letter.) |
La lascio uscire stasera.
I'm letting her go out tonight. (uscire is intransitive → direct object la)
Le lascio leggere il libro.
I'm letting her read the book. (leggere il libro is transitive → indirect object le)
Faccio piangere il bambino quando dico di no.
I make the child cry when I say no.
Faccio mangiare le verdure ai bambini.
I make the kids eat their vegetables. (verdure is the direct object → kids get marked with 'ai')
This rule is the single most important thing to internalize about all causative constructions. Once you have it, you can navigate fare, farsi, and lasciare with confidence.
Clitic placement
Clitic pronouns referring to the embedded subject or object cluster around the conjugated verb (fare, farsi, lasciare), not the infinitive — with one important freedom granted to lasciare.
| Construction | Default clitic position | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| fare + infinitive | Before fare: lo faccio scrivere | Not freely available |
| farsi + infinitive | Before farsi: me lo faccio scrivere | Not freely available |
| lasciare + infinitive | Before lasciare: glielo lascio fare | Enclitic: lascio farglielo |
| permettere di + infinitive | On the infinitive: gli permetto di farlo | Not on permettere |
Glielo faccio scrivere subito.
I'll make him write it (the letter) right away.
Me li sono fatti consegnare a casa.
I had them delivered to my house.
Glielo lascio fare. / Lascio farglielo.
I let him do it. (Both forms equally correct.)
Gli permetto di farlo da solo.
I permit him to do it on his own. (Clitic 'lo' attaches to the infinitive 'fare,' not to 'permetto.')
The reason permettere behaves differently is that it's not a true causative — it's a regular verb of permission that takes an indirect object plus a di + infinitive complement. The infinitive in this case is grammatically subordinate, with its own clitic-attachment domain.
Compound tenses and auxiliaries
| Construction | Auxiliary | Participle agreement |
|---|---|---|
| fare + infinitive | avere | Optionally with preceding direct object |
| farsi + infinitive | essere (because reflexive) | With the subject |
| lasciare + infinitive | avere | Optionally with preceding direct object |
| permettere di + infinitive | avere | Optionally with preceding direct object |
Ho fatto riparare la macchina dal meccanico.
I had the car fixed by the mechanic.
Mi sono fatta tagliare i capelli ieri.
I (female) got my hair cut yesterday. (essere + participle agrees with female subject)
L'ho lasciata partire perché insisteva.
I let her leave because she was insisting. (participle agrees with preceding la → l')
Gli ho permesso di entrare in cucina.
I let him into the kitchen.
The big surprise here is farsi — because it's reflexive, it forces essere as auxiliary and forces participle agreement with the subject. The other three behave like any transitive verb: avere as auxiliary, optional agreement with a preceding direct-object clitic.
Permettere di: the formal alternative
Permettere belongs to a slightly different grammatical family — it's a verb of permission with the structure permettere [a qualcuno] di + infinitive. It expresses essentially the same content as lasciare + infinitive, but in a more formal register.
Il professore non ci permette di usare il telefono in classe.
The professor doesn't permit us to use phones in class.
Le permettono di entrare solo se prenota.
They allow her in only if she books.
Non permetto a nessuno di parlarmi così.
I don't allow anyone to speak to me like that.
In informal speech, lasciare + infinitive is the default. In writing, official contexts, and emphatic statements of authority, permettere di + infinitive is preferred. Compare:
Lasciami entrare.
Let me in. (informal, casual)
Mi permetta di entrare.
Allow me to enter. (formal, polite, addressing someone with 'Lei')
The polite-imperative form mi permetta is also a stock phrase used to begin a polite request: Mi permetta una domanda ("Allow me a question / If I may ask").
Decision guide: which construction to use
Ask three questions in order:
1. Does the action benefit the subject (the doer of the main verb)?
- Yes → farsi + infinitive (Mi faccio tagliare i capelli.)
- No → continue
2. Does the subject force or arrange the action, or merely permit it?
- Force/arrange → fare + infinitive (Faccio scrivere la lettera a Marco.)
- Permit → continue to question 3
3. Is the register formal or informal?
- Informal → lasciare + infinitive (Lo lascio scrivere.)
- Formal → permettere di + infinitive (Gli permetto di scrivere.)
Quick reference: the same sentence across constructions
To cement the differences, here is "she takes the photo / has the photo taken / lets it be taken / permits it" across the family:
Fa fare la foto al fotografo.
She has the photographer take the photo. (Arranges it; the photo could be for anyone.)
Si fa fare la foto dal fotografo.
She gets her photo taken by the photographer. (The photo is of her, for her.)
Lascia fare la foto al fotografo.
She lets the photographer take the photo. (The photographer wanted to; she's not stopping him.)
Permette al fotografo di fare la foto.
She permits the photographer to take the photo. (Formal; explicit grant of permission.)
Each version captures a different social situation, even though the surface event — a photo being taken — is the same.
Common mistakes
❌ Faccio Marco scrivere la lettera.
Wrong word order — the embedded subject does not come between fare and the infinitive.
✅ Faccio scrivere la lettera a Marco.
Correct — fare + infinitive + object, then a + embedded subject.
❌ Mi ho fatto tagliare i capelli.
Wrong auxiliary — farsi is reflexive, so it takes essere.
✅ Mi sono fatto tagliare i capelli.
Correct — essere + agreement of fatto with the subject.
❌ Lo permetto di entrare.
Wrong object marking — permettere takes an indirect-object person (gli/le), not a direct object.
✅ Gli permetto di entrare.
Correct — gli marks 'to him' as the recipient of permission.
❌ Faccio uscire la mia figlia stasera.
Sounds like coercion — but you mean you're allowing her, not forcing her.
✅ Lascio uscire mia figlia stasera.
Correct — lasciare for permission. (Also note: no possessive article before family members in the singular.)
❌ Lascio Marco a scrivere la lettera.
Wrong — lasciare + infinitive does not take 'a' before the infinitive.
✅ Lascio scrivere la lettera a Marco.
Correct — bare infinitive, with 'a Marco' marking the embedded subject when the embedded verb has its own object.
Key takeaways
The Italian causative family covers four major constructions, each capturing a slightly different relationship between cause, permission, and beneficiary:
- Fare + infinitive — make / have someone do something for someone else.
- Farsi + infinitive — get / have something done for oneself (reflexive, takes essere).
- Lasciare + infinitive — let / allow someone to do something (informal).
- Permettere di + infinitive — permit someone to do something (formal).
The unifying rule for the first three is the object-marking principle: intransitive embedded verbs put the embedded subject in the direct-object slot; transitive embedded verbs push it to indirect-object marking. Master that, and the family becomes navigable.
Cross-references: fare + infinitive for the active causative; farsi + infinitive for the reflexive service variant; lasciare + infinitive for the permissive variant; clitic placement for the rules governing where pronouns attach.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Causative Fare + Infinitive (Fare + Inf)B1 — How Italian expresses causation in a single compact construction — making someone do something or having something done — including the tricky placement of the causee, clitics, and the reflexive 'farsi + infinitive'.
- Farsi + Infinitive: Reflexive Causative (Get Something Done)B1 — How to say you 'get' or 'have' something done for yourself — haircuts, repairs, deliveries — using farsi + infinitive, the reflexive causative every Italian uses daily.
- Lasciare + Infinitive: Permissive 'Let'B1 — How Italian expresses 'letting' someone do something — the permissive cousin of fare + infinitive, used constantly in parenting, management, and everyday life.