Causative Constructions (Hacer, Dejar, Mandar + Infinitivo)

A causative is a construction that lets you say someone caused another person to do something — make them do it, let them do it, order them to do it, forbid them from doing it. English mostly uses bare infinitives for this (made him cry, let her go). Spanish has two parallel strategies: verb + infinitivo and verb + que + subjuntivo. Both are native, and choosing between them depends on the verb and the style.

hacer + infinitivo: making someone do something

The most common causative verb is hacer. With an infinitive, hacer means "make (someone) do" or "cause (something) to happen."

The pattern hacer + infinitivo is tight and efficient. The infinitive follows directly, and the person being made to do something usually appears as a direct or indirect object pronoun.

hacer que + subjuntivo: the longer form

The same idea can be expressed more explicitly with hacer que + subjuntivo. This form is slightly more formal and is preferred when the subordinate action is complex or has its own subject and objects.

Both hizo llorar a los niños and hizo que los niños lloraran are correct. The infinitive version is tighter; the que version is clearer when there are multiple objects.

dejar + infinitivo: letting someone do something

Dejar means "to leave," but with an infinitive it works as "to let" or "to allow."

Like hacer, dejar also has a que + subjuntivo variant, which is slightly more formal.

Both patterns are equally grammatical. In everyday speech, déjame pasar is far more common than deja que yo pase, but the longer version surfaces when the embedded clause is heavier.

mandar + infinitivo: ordering or having done

Mandar can mean "to send," but as a causative it means "to order" or "to have (something) done."

This is the closest Spanish gets to the English "have + past participle" causative (have a house built). The agent of the embedded verb is often unstated — someone built the house, but who isn't the point.

Causatives with a dative: two layers of objects

One tricky feature of causatives is that the causer (the one who makes it happen), the causee (the one who does the action), and the patient (the thing being acted on) can all be in the same sentence. Spanish handles this with a dative (indirect object) pronoun for the causee.

The le or les refers to the person doing the action; el carro is what they did it to. Alternatively, you can spell it out with hacer que + subjuntivo:

Both versions are common. The short form is more idiomatic; the long form is easier to parse when objects pile up.

permitir + infinitivo / que + subjuntivo

Permitir (to permit, to allow) follows the same pattern as dejar, but it's more formal.

In everyday speech, dejar is more common; in formal writing, signage, and official speech, permitir is preferred.

obligar a + infinitivo

Obligar (to force, to oblige) requires the preposition a before the infinitive. This is the strongest causative in the "make" family.

Don't forget the a: obligar hablar is wrong; it must be obligar a hablar.

prohibir + infinitivo / que + subjuntivo

The negative counterpart is prohibir (to forbid).

With a specific person, prohibir often takes an indirect object (le prohibieron) plus the infinitive. With a general rule, que + subjuntivo is more natural.

Comparison table

impedir: preventing action

Impedir (to prevent) often appears with que + subjuntivo, and notably the que-clause is often negative-flavored in English but not in Spanish.

Note that in Spanish there's no "from" — just impedir que + subjuntivo. Don't be tempted to add an extra preposition.

Common error: forgetting the subjunctive

The most frequent learner mistake is using the indicative after que in these causative constructions.

Any causative verb followed by que triggers the subjunctive, because you're expressing influence on another subject's action. See Subjunctive with verbs of influence for the broader rule.

Word order with causatives and pronouns

Object pronouns usually attach before the causative verb or after the infinitive.

Reflexive pronouns inside causatives follow the same rules as in other infinitive constructions.

Why causatives matter

Causatives are how Spanish packages "one person influencing another's action" into a single clause. Without them, you'd have to say things like yo quería que los niños se acostaran y lo logré — clumsy and slow. Hice que los niños se acostaran says the same thing in half the words. Learning the causative patterns is a real boost in fluency, especially for narrative and descriptive writing.