Causative verbs: make/let/have + bare infinitive (Murphy Additional Exercises, -ing and to)

Pattern

make / let / have + someone + bare infinitive (NO “to”)

• What made you change your mind?
• She made me wait.
• He let me borrow the car.
• I’ll have the plumber fix it.

The two causative families

Verb	Form after object	Example
make someone ___	BARE	She made me wait.
let someone ___	BARE	He let me borrow the car.
have someone ___	BARE	I’ll have the plumber fix it.
get someone ___	to-infinitive	I got him to help.
force someone ___	to-infinitive	They forced me to sign.
persuade someone ___	to-infinitive	She persuaded me to stay.
cause someone ___	to-infinitive	It caused me to worry.
tell / ask someone ___	to-infinitive	He told me to leave.

The memory hook

• Direct causatives (make / let / have) — the doer has no choice, the action is forced/arranged directly → bare infinitive
• Indirect / persuasive causatives (get / force / persuade / cause / tell / ask) — involve convincing or reasoning → to-infinitive

The common trap: “What made you to change?” ✗ — make always drops “to”.

The wider bare-infinitive family

Bare infinitive (no “to”) appears after:

Structure	Example
make / let / have + someone	She made me wait.
would rather	I’d rather stay.
had better	You’d better go.
help (+ optional to)	Can you help me (to) carry this?
modals (can, will, must…)	I can swim.

Test application

What made you ___ your mind?

Answer: change — make + object + bare infinitive. “What made you change your mind?” (to-infinitive ✗)

Source

Raymond Murphy, English Grammar in Use (4th ed.), Additional Exercises — -ing and to … (Units 53-66). Ebot lesson 2026-08-29: “What made you ___ your mind?” → change (causative make + bare infinitive).