haha wa watashi ni ryou no souji o sasemashita.

My mother made me clean the dormitory.

Breakdown of haha wa watashi ni ryou no souji o sasemashita.

• は: topic particle
• を: direct object particle
• の: possessive case particle
• 母はは: mother
• に: indirect object particle
• 掃除そうじ: cleaning
• 掃そう除じする: to clean
• 私わたし: me
• 寮りょう: dormitory
• 〜させる: causative form

Questions & Answers about haha wa watashi ni ryou no souji o sasemashita.

What does the particle に in 私に indicate here?

In a causative sentence, に marks the person who is caused to do something (the “causee”). So 私に means “to me” – I’m the one being made (or let) to clean.

What does the particle を in 寮の掃除を mark?

It marks the direct object of the causative verb させました – the action that the causee is made to perform. Here 寮の掃除を is “the cleaning of the dorm,” which is what the mother made you do.

What is させました in 掃除をさせました?

It’s the past‐polite form of the causative verb させる, which is the causative of する (“to do”). させました literally means “made (someone) do” or “let (someone) do” in past polite.

Why do we say 寮の掃除 rather than just 掃除?

寮の掃除 (“cleaning of the dormitory”) uses の to show that 寮 modifies 掃除. Without 寮の, you’d just have “cleaning” but no indication of what’s being cleaned.

Why is 母 marked with は instead of が?

は marks 母 as the topic: “As for my mother, she made me clean the dorm.” If you used 母が, you’d simply introduce her as the grammatical subject in a more neutral way (“My mother made me…”). は often implies contrast or that the speaker is assuming you know who the subject is.

How do you tell who is the causer (the one doing the making) and who is the causee (the one doing the cleaning)?

– The one marked by は/が is the causer (here 母).
– The one marked by に is the causee (here 私).
– The phrase before を is the action the causee performs (here 寮の掃除), and the verb させました shows the causation.

Does させました mean “made me” or “let me”? How can you tell?

させる can express both “make” (force) and “let” (permit). Context and tone decide which. In isolation, 母は私に寮の掃除をさせました most naturally reads as “My mother made me clean the dorm.” If you want to emphasize permission or favor, you’d often add ～させてくれました or use a softer construction like 掃除をさせてもらいました.

Can you change the word order of this sentence?

Yes, Japanese is fairly flexible so long as the verb stays at the end. For example:
• 私に寮の掃除を母はさせました。
• 寮の掃除を母は私にさせました。
Each reorder shifts the emphasis slightly, but the basic meaning stays the same.