使/让/叫 pivot-causative sentences
A pivot causative sentence uses 使, 让 or 叫 to make someone do something or feel something, and the noun after the verb is both its object and the subject of the next verb. In 妈妈叫他去买水果, 他 is that pivot.
Structure: S1 + 使/让/叫 + Pivot NP + VP2
| Word | Register | Typical use |
|------|----------|-------------|
| 让 ràng | everyday | let sb. do / make sb. feel |
| 叫 jiào | informal | ask/tell sb. to do (person → person) |
| 使 shǐ | formal | cause sth. to happen (abstract results) |
✅ 老师让我们回家复习。(Teacher had us review at home.)
✅ 他叫我帮他买东西。(He asked me to buy things for him.)
✅ 这件事使他非常难过。(This matter made him very sad — formal)
Contrast with 把/被: 把 = agent acts on definite object; 被 = passive; 使/让/叫 = one entity causes another to do/feel.
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 这件事情让她感到非常开心。 | Zhè jiàn shì qíng ràng tā gǎn dào fēi cháng kāi xīn. | This matter made her feel extremely happy. | 让 (everyday): thing → person → emotional state. Pivot: 她 is object of 让 and subject of 感到 |
| 他妈妈叫他去买了一些水果。 | Tā māma jiào tā qù mǎi le yī xiē shuǐ guǒ. | His mother asked him to go buy some fruit. | 叫 (informal, person-to-person task): mom tells son to do something concrete |
| 这次失败的经历使他深刻认识到了坚持的重要性。 | Zhè cì shī bài de jīng lì shǐ tā shēn kè rèn shí dào le jiān chí de zhòng yào xìng. | This experience of failure made him deeply realise the importance of perseverance. | 使 (formal/literary): abstract cause (失败经历) → person → abstract result (认识到重要性) |
Word by word
Each word in this pattern on its own: what it does here, the structure, three more examples, and the mistake to avoid.
使 (shǐ)
A formal 'make' that says one thing causes a feeling or a result.
Structure: thing + 使 + person + verb/adjective
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 这个消息使大家非常吃惊。 | Zhè ge xiāo xi shǐ dà jiā fēi cháng chī jīng. | This news surprised everyone a great deal. |
| 运动使人身体健康。 | Yùn dòng shǐ rén shēn tǐ jiàn kāng. | Exercise makes people healthy. |
| 他的话使我想起了小时候。 | Tā de huà shǐ wǒ xiǎng qǐ le xiǎo shí hou. | His words made me think of my childhood. |
Not: 老板使我明天早点来。 使 is for results and feelings, not orders; for telling someone to do something use 叫 or 让.
让 (ràng)
'Let' or 'make'; used for permission and for causing a feeling.
Structure: subject + 让 + person + verb
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 妈妈让我早点睡觉。 | Mā ma ràng wǒ zǎo diǎn shuì jiào. | Mom told me to go to bed early. |
| 请让我看一下。 | Qǐng ràng wǒ kàn yí xià. | Please let me have a look. |
| 这个电影让我哭了。 | Zhè ge diàn yǐng ràng wǒ kū le. | This film made me cry. |
Not: 老师让了我们回家。 Do not put 了 after 让; put it at the end or after the second verb.
In the official HSK 3.0 grammar outline: level 4, fixed patterns; level 4, prepositions (引出施事、受事).
让 is also explained in: Passive Constructions: 被, 叫, 让 (HSK 3) · Pivot Sentences: 叫/让/请+someone+V (HSK 3) · 被-construction (passive) (HSK 4) · Serial Verb & Pivotal Constructions (HSK 5).
叫 (jiào)
'Tell' or 'ask' someone to do something; it is spoken.
Structure: person + 叫 + person + verb
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 老板叫我明天早点来。 | Lǎo bǎn jiào wǒ míng tiān zǎo diǎn lái. | The boss told me to come early tomorrow. |
| 妈妈叫弟弟去倒垃圾。 | Mā ma jiào dì di qù dào lā jī. | Mom told my brother to take out the trash. |
| 医生叫他多喝水。 | Yī shēng jiào tā duō hē shuǐ. | The doctor told him to drink more water. |
Not: 妈妈叫去买菜。 A person must come between 叫 and the second verb: 妈妈叫我去买菜。
In the official HSK 3.0 grammar outline: level 2, special sentence patterns (兼语句); level 4, prepositions (引出施事、受事); level 5, special sentence patterns (被动句).
叫 is also explained in: Passive Constructions: 被, 叫, 让 (HSK 3) · Pivot Sentences: 叫/让/请+someone+V (HSK 3).
What you need first
Every topic in GraphChinese names its own prerequisites, and these are the grammar points this one is built on. If a sentence here will not parse, one of them is why.
What this opens up
These patterns list 使/让/叫 pivot-causative sentences among their own prerequisites, so they become readable once this one holds.
Questions about 使/让/叫 pivot-causative sentences
What does 兼语句 (使/让/叫 pivot-causative sentences) mean in Chinese?
A pivot causative sentence uses 使, 让 or 叫 to make someone do something or feel something, and the noun after the verb is both its object and the subject of the next verb. In 妈妈叫他去买水果, 他 is that pivot. It is an HSK 4 grammar point.
How do you use 兼语句 (使/让/叫 pivot-causative sentences) in a sentence?
这件事情让她感到非常开心。 — Zhè jiàn shì qíng ràng tā gǎn dào fēi cháng kāi xīn. — This matter made her feel extremely happy. 让 (everyday): thing → person → emotional state. Pivot: 她 is object of 让 and subject of 感到.
What do you need to know before 兼语句 (使/让/叫 pivot-causative sentences)?
把-construction (disposal) (HSK 4), Pivot Sentences (HSK 3). This pattern is built out of them, so a sentence here that will not parse usually means one of them has not landed yet.
What does 兼语句 (使/让/叫 pivot-causative sentences) lead to?
Serial Verb & Pivotal Constructions (HSK 5). Each of them names 兼语句 (使/让/叫 pivot-causative sentences) among its own prerequisites.
When do I use 使, 让 and 叫?
让 works for both permission and causing. 叫 is for giving orders in speech. 使 is formal and for results, as in 这件事使我很感动。
Can the pivot be left out?
No. The person between the two verbs is both the object of the first and the subject of the second, so 他让我走 needs 我.
使/让/叫 pivot-causative sentences is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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