Causation with جعل
To express causation—meaning someone or something makes another person or thing perform an action—use the verb جعل (to make).
The structure for this is straightforward but specific:
- The verb جعل conjugated for the subject (the cause).
- The direct object (the person or thing being affected).
- A bare present-tense verb to describe the resulting action (do not use particles like أن).
When the object is a pronoun, attach it directly to جعل as a suffix.
| The shocking news made her tremble. | النبأ الصادم جعلها ترتجف.an-naba'u aṣ-ṣâdimu ja'alahâ tartajifu. |
| He did not speak, but the astonishment made him gasp. | لم يتكلم، لكن الدهشة جعلته يشهق.lam yatakallam, lâkinna ad-dahshata ja'alat-hu yashhaq. |
Using Explicit Nouns as Objects
If the object being acted upon is a specified noun instead of a pronoun, it immediately follows جعل and takes the accusative case.
| The tragic news made the man freeze from panic. | الخبر المأساوي جعل الرجل يتجمد من الذعر.al-khabaru al-ma'sâwiyyu ja'ala ar-rajula yatajammadu mina adh-dhu'ri |
| The sudden news made her heart palpitate. | الخبر المفاجئ جعل قلبها يخفق.al-khabaru al-mufâji'u ja'ala qalbahâ yakhfiqu. |
Conjugating and Combining Actions
The main verb جعل can be conjugated in any tense, such as the present tense (يجعل). Regardless of the tense of جعل, the resulting action verb remains in the present tense to describe the immediate reaction.
You can also compound these sentences to describe multiple reactions to a single event:
| The shocking news either makes him cry or makes him gasp. | النبأ الصادم إما يجعله يبكي أو يجعله يشهق.annaba'u assâdimu immâ yaj'aluhu yabkî aw yaj'aluhu yashhaqu |
| The tragic accident made the boy feel panic and astonishment. | الحادث المأساوي جعل الولد يشعر بالذعر والدهشة.al-hâdithu al-ma'sâwiyyu ja'ala al-walada yash'uru bidh-dhu'ri wad-dahshati |
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