Breakdown of Fizemos-lhe organizar o banquete.
fazer
to do
organizar
to organize
lhe
to him / to her / to you (formal)
o banquete
the banquet
Questions & Answers about Fizemos-lhe organizar o banquete.
Why does this sentence use the indirect object pronoun lhe instead of the direct object o for "him"?
This is the main rule for causative verbs like fazer (to make) and deixar (to let). Because the infinitive verb (organizar) already has a direct object (o banquete), the person being made to do the action (the causee) is pushed to the indirect object position. This prevents the sentence from having two direct objects at once.
What would the sentence look like if we didn't mention o banquete and just said "We made him organize"?
If the second verb drops its direct object, the person being forced to act shifts back to being the direct object. You would use the accusative pronoun o. Because Fizemos ends in an -s, that -s is dropped and the pronoun becomes -lo, resulting in Fizemo-lo organizar.
Could lhe also mean "her" or "you" in this sentence?
Is there a way to phrase this without having to juggle indirect and direct objects?
Yes! Instead of using this infinitive structure, it is very common to use a subordinate clause with the subjunctive. You could say Fizemos com que ele organizasse o banquete. This means the exact same thing but lets you use the regular subject pronoun ele, completely avoiding the dative/accusative pronoun rule.
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