Causative Form

Introduction

I'm obligated to start out by saying that I hope this lesson doesn't cause you to have an existential, or possibly grammatical, crisis. Why? Because this is the causative form lesson of course!

To be honest, it's not too bad. If you can conquer the passive form, you can conquer the causative form. At least, that's what my dad always used to tell me (which was weird because he didn't know any Japanese...). That being said, this is a long lesson, so settle in, and don't be afraid to take some breaks!

"Force" vs "let": the duality of させる

Structure

• 

  Negative verb stem(さ)せる
  Example:
  → ピザを食たべさせてください！
  ”Please let me eat pizza!”

The causative form (使役しえき in Japanese) is a verbal conjugation, so let's take a look at how causative verbs are formed before we dive into the good stuff.