Make and let

In English, the verbs "make" and "let" are followed by an object and the infinitive without "to":

They can't make you work late.
She made him do the exercise again.

She lets the students sing in class.
His parents let him paint his room black.

Be careful: in the passive, "make" is followed by the infinitive with "to":

They were made to do the exercise again.

"Have" can also be used in this pattern:

Please have your secretary call me as soon as possible.

(Please ask your secretary to call me…)

Other English verbs not followed by the infinitive + to

Modal verbs (can, will, would, etc) are followed by the infinitive without "to":

I can see him clearly.
They will leave early tomorrow.
If I were you, I would talk to her.

(Click here for more information on modals.)

See / hear / watch someone followed by the infinitive without "to":

She saw the girl steal the money. (She saw all the action of stealing.)
I heard him tell her about the party." (I heard all about the party.)
I watched them do the exercise. (I watched them complete the exercise.)

But remember:
If you follow these verbs with the gerund form (ing), you only see part of the action.

She saw him talking to the teacher. (She didn't see the whole conversation.)

See also How to use gerunds in English




Related pages on english-at-home.com


How to use "make" and "do" in English
English phrasal verbs with "up"
Making generalisations


9 comments on “Make and let”

lee

When I returned to the kitchen, I found the water overflow / overflowed

… I saw the water overflowing or I saw the water overflow.

Richard

If the water was in the process of overflowing, you did not see the entire spill. So: When I returned to the kitchen, I saw the water overflowing.

If the water had stopped overflowing, you saw the entire spill. So: When I returned to the kitchen, I saw the water overflow.

charif

she makes me cuddle her
he lets ma drive his car

toqua

I'll let my brother use my bike if he lets me use his laptop.

jeremy

she let me read her book

harshit

I let my kid watch his favourite cartoons.
Let me finish my work before 5.pm
Let's talk on this topic.
Let them enjoy themselves on their own

woky

My boss saw me chatting online in work time yesterday. Then he makes me do some extra work today.

burhan

my wife makes me happy when she lets me to go to futball match

esam

they made me cry

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