Causative Verbs in TOEFL ITP: Make, Have, Get, Let, and Help (Plus the Traps)
Causative verbs in TOEFL ITP Structure: the 5 formulas for make, have, get, let, and help, when TO or the past participle is needed, plus traps and a quiz.
Why is it “He made me work” with no to, but “He got me to work” with a required to? The meanings are close: getting someone else to do something.
These are causative verbs, verbs that cause another person to act. In TOEFL® ITP Structure & Written Expression, they are a regular trap because each verb takes its own verb form. Pick the wrong one (to, -ing, or past participle) and the point is gone.
Here are the 5 formulas to memorize. (The slides below are in Indonesian, with the English examples.)
Why Causatives Are Tricky
In causative questions, what’s tested is almost always the second verb (the one after the object). The options tend to look alike: repair, to repair, repairing, repaired. They can all seem reasonable, so you need to rely on the formula, not on feel.
Two key questions every time you see a causative:
- Which verb is it? (make, have, get, let, help, allow)
- Does the object do the action, or receive it?
Formula 1: MAKE and HAVE (Active) + Base Verb
When the object is a person who does the action, make and have take the base verb (bare infinitive), with no to and no -ing.
Formula: S + make/have + object (person) + base verb
✅ The manager made the staff work overtime. ✅ She had the technician repair the server. ❌ The manager made the staff to work overtime.
The difference is subtle: make suggests forcing, have suggests assigning a task (for example to a technician or staff). The formula is the same.
Note: In the passive, make does take to: The staff were made to work overtime. The “no to” rule is for the active form.
Formula 2: GET (Active) + TO + Base Verb
Get in the sense of persuading or convincing someone always uses to.
Formula: S + get + object (person) + to + base verb
✅ The manager got the IT team to fix the network. ✅ She finally got her brother to sign the contract. ❌ The manager got the IT team fix the network.
The memory hook: HAVE hates TO, GET needs TO. This is the pair test writers swap most often.
Formula 3: HAVE / GET + Thing + Past Participle (Passive)
When the object receives the action (usually a thing), both have and get take the past participle. The meaning: we arrange for someone else to do something for us.
Formula: S + have/get + object (thing) + V3
✅ The author had his manuscript published last month. ✅ She got the packages delivered to the office. ❌ The author had his manuscript publish last month.
The logic is simple: the manuscript was published; it didn’t publish anything itself. So the passive form published is correct. Quick test: can the object perform the action by itself? If not, choose the past participle.
Formula 4: LET vs ALLOW / PERMIT
All three mean “give permission”, but they take different forms.
LET + person + base verb ALLOW / PERMIT + person + to + base verb
✅ The teacher let the students leave earlier. ✅ The rules allow students to use calculators. ❌ The teacher let the students to leave earlier. ❌ The rules allow students use calculators.
Test writers love swapping these. Remember: LET is bare, ALLOW and PERMIT need TO.
Formula 5: HELP + (TO) Base Verb
Help is the most flexible: it can take the base verb or to + base verb. Both are standard.
✅ The app helped students score higher. ✅ The app helped students to score higher. ❌ The app helped students scoring higher.
What’s always wrong is the -ing form. In a real question, usually only one of score or to score appears, and the other options (scoring, scored) are the distractors.
Causative Formulas at a Glance
| Verb | Object | Next verb form | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| make / have (active) | person | base verb | made him work |
| get (active) | person | to + base verb | got him to work |
| have / get (passive) | thing | past participle | had the car washed |
| let | person | base verb | let them go |
| allow / permit | person | to + base verb | allowed them to go |
| help | person | base verb or to + base verb | helped me (to) study |
The short version: “HAVE hates TO, GET needs TO, things get V3.”
Quick Quiz
- The coach made the players _____ ten laps. (run / to run)
- I need to get my laptop _____ before the exam. (repair / repaired)
- The landlord doesn’t allow tenants _____ pets. (keep / to keep)
- My friend helped me _____ for the test. (prepare / preparing)
Answers:
- run (make + person + base verb).
- repaired (the laptop receives the action, past participle).
- to keep (allow + person + to + base verb).
- prepare (help + base verb; to prepare is also right, preparing is wrong).
If you still mix up verbs, nouns, and adjectives in a sentence, see Parts of Speech 101.
Practice Causatives for Real
Causative formulas stick fastest when you see them across many different questions, especially Written Expression items that underline the to or the verb form.
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