叫 / 让 / 要 + Person + Verb
Reach for this when one person causes, asks, or wants another to do something — 'have someone do X,' 'tell someone to X,' 'make someone X.' This is the basic Chinese causative. The three verbs differ in flavor: 叫 is direct ('tell / have'), 让 is permissive ('let / allow / have'), 要 is demanding ('want someone to / make'). Everyday spoken register — parents, bosses, friends giving instructions. The Person sits between the causative verb and the action verb. No 把, no 给 needed.
Structure
Subject + 叫/让/要 + Person + Verb (+ Object).
jiào / ràng / yào
How to Think About It
English uses one verb ('have / let / make / tell') and lets context fill in tone. Chinese splits the work across three verbs: 叫 ('call on / tell'), 让 ('let / allow'), 要 ('want / demand'). Picture a manager: 我叫他来 ('I tell him to come'), 我让他来 ('I let him come / I have him come'), 我要他来 ('I want him to come / I'm making him come'). The Person ALWAYS sits in the middle — never at the end.
Examples
妈妈叫我去买东西。
Māma jiào wǒ qù mǎi dōngxi.
Mom told me to go shopping.
老师让我们做作业。
Lǎoshī ràng wǒmen zuò zuòyè.
The teacher had us do homework.
我爸爸要我学医生。
Wǒ bàba yào wǒ xué yīshēng.
My dad wants me to study to be a doctor.
他让我等一下。
Tā ràng wǒ děng yīxià.
He told me to wait a moment.
Common Mistake
Learners put the Person after the action verb the way English does ('I tell to come him'). In Chinese the Person comes IMMEDIATELY after 叫/让/要, before the action verb.
妈妈让做作业我。
妈妈让我做作业。
Don't Confuse With
请 + Person + Verb
Polite request — 'please / invite to.' Use 请 with strangers, customers, guests. 叫/让/要 are casual or authoritative.
使 + Person + Adjective/Verb
Formal causative for states ('makes him happy'). Use 使 in writing for emotional/abstract results; use 让 in speech.
给 + Person + Verb
Doesn't mean 'have someone do X.' 给 marks the recipient of an action ('give him' / 'do X for him'). Different role entirely.
Practice
Fill in: 老师____我们多听中文。 (tells / has)
Show answer
让
Arrange: 我 / 妈妈 / 叫 / 回家 / 早点
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妈妈叫我早点回家。
Translate to Chinese: My mom wants me to learn Chinese.
Show answer
我妈妈要我学中文。
Use 让 to describe something a parent or teacher made you do.
Show answer
我爸爸让我每天看书。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear 叫 / 让 / 要 + Person + Verb in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
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