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
63 comments on “Make and let”
When I returned to the kitchen, I found the water overflow / overflowed
… I saw the water overflowing or I saw the water overflow.
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.
I'll let my brother use my bike if he lets me use his laptop.
she let me read her book
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
My boss saw me chatting online in work time yesterday. Then he makes me do some extra work today.
they made me cry
I will let you know.
You made me live again.
Let me in.
Let the sunshine in.
Let me talk.
Let me see your bag.
English at home make me study english more easily.
my wife makes me happy when she lets me to go to football match.
here should be ' to go' or only 'go'
pramod » It should be "go" without "to".
My wife makes me happy when she lets me go to the football match.
How is the passive of "Let"? Is "let" followed by the infinitive with "to"?
Ex:
Active: she lets the students sing in class.
Passive: 1. The students are let to sing in class.
2. The students are let sing in class.
3. The students let to be sung in class.
Which sentence is right?
Thanks
MamTom » You can't make the passive with let. You can say instead:
The students are allowed to sing in class.
I make my daughter study hard.
She was made to study English by teacher.
He lets the children play in the park.
Is my sentence correct?
Peter » Yes!
If you make a mess, I won't let you hang out.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
Thanks
Blue Heaven » Correct!
I saw the car crashing the road when I made my eyes outside through the window.
I am not sure the sentence is correct. Please help me, thanks.
StevenLee » No, the sentence isn't correct. I don't understand what you mean by "…made my eyes outside through the window".
I want to mean by "I saw a car crashing on the road when I looked out the window."
Is the last sentence correct?
StevenLee » This sentence is better. You could say "I saw a car crash when I looked out of the window".
I heard that guys singing a song loudly, because I let them made a party .
please help to correct my sentence, if it's wrong.
thanks!
I heard those guys singing loudly, because I let them have a party.
let me study my books…
let me see this film
My mother let me go to partys
My brother make me do his homeworks
are the sentences correct ???
My mother let me go to the party.
My brother makes me do his homework.
i will let u go but make me some pie first
I won't let you go if you don't make me happy.
She makes me read the instructions carefully in order that i should remember it .
is my sentence correct ? Thanks !
Yes, though it should be "in order that I (should) remember them".
yes,, but the let and the make they are same meaning?
No – let means "allow", while make means "force" or "oblige".
i was realy confused in using let and make dut now thinks become clearer
My friend makes my life better.
i will let my English improve with the website.
Right ??
The first is fine. But the second is wrong. You could say "My English will improve with this website."
i make many friends by behaving good with them.
i make him do his assignment before i let him watch his favorite show
I let my daughter play game online
My boss made me write this report
i make her do her workhome before i let her eat her cake
I make him fall in love me before he let me love him
Mr. clare i want to improve my english reading writing and speaking skills so i need ur help.
I let them go out to make money.
is above sentence correct.
Yes, your sentence is correct.
Clare,
Is this correct?
I let him read my book.
She makes me want to cry.
You make me a better person.
thanks.
Yes!
She lets me go home.
She let me go home.
Which one is correct.
And where will we use let or lets.
Thanks you.
The first is fine for the present tense, and the second is fine for the past tense.
what do you make him do?
I make him do evrything.I make him cook food,make him clean the house ,make him wash clothes…every thing.
Please correct my sentences.
Your sentences are fine!
my parents don't let me go there
they make me do homeworks before
have i written these sentences correct? thx
bye from kosovo
Yes, though it should be "homework", not "homeworks".
SHE MAKES ME FEEL HAPPY
LET ME SEE YOUR HOMEWORK
I MADE MY BED YESTERDAU
I will let you go after you made your homework.
I watched him play football in the garden.
I saw them do their homework.
I heared her shout to her sister.
He saw the children playing on the laptop.
You made me comment on the site.
Obviously, it is a great help to non-english people like us who don't have much interaction in their daily life.
Let us have the fun of learning english.
excuse me i want to ask a bout something else its not related a bout our lesson but i am so sorry i need your help. i want to know whats the difference between (little ,a little) (few ,a few) and (there) i can use it with singler and plural
Have a look at the page on few / little in the grammar section of the site:
http://www.english-at-home.com/grammar/few/
he makes me cry all day
this website help us to make our english better..
i'm gonna give some examples for all what i have just learend .
1* i make my brother do the exercises every day.
2* i let my friends travel to Glasgow last year .
3* she has her sister play with her in the garden
modles:
she can speak English correctly.
i heard her say that yesterday.
i heard her saying those nice words.
hopefully ,all of them are correct ms.Clare.
thanks.
OK!
Dear Clare
can we use "get" as a causitive?
1-I want to get my house painted.
2- he gets his son to go to school.
Are these sentences correct?
The first is fine, but in the second I'd use "makes": He makes his son go to school.
