LESSON XV

The causative construction. — Use of venir (venir ù, venir de) + infinitive. — Common expressions with faire. — Irregular verbs boire, suivre, conduire, construire, détruire, traduire, cuire

57. The causative construction. — a. Faire + infinitive is generally used in French to express causation. In English, this idea is expressed in different ways, but generally by the use of a primary verb, cause, make, have, etc.

/ make (cause, have, etc.) John (to) study. Je fais étudier Jean. She made (caused, had, etc.) him (to) Elle l'a fait venir.

come.

I have (cause, make, etc.) the windows Je fais laver les fenêtres.1

(to be) washed.

Note. When the agent is expressed, the French generally use par.

She had the house cleaned by Henry. \ Elle a fait nettoyer la maison par She had Henry clean the house. J Henri.

My mother had him called by Mary. 1 Ma mère l'a fait appeler par My mother had Mary call him. J Marie.

1 Observe that the French active infinitive used after faire is translated by the passive infinitive in English. The same is true of transitive infinitives used after laisser, entendre, voir :

Je le laisse vendre. I let it be sold.

Je les avais vu battre. / had seen them beaten,

b. If the infinitive has an object, the primary verb requires the personal object to be indirect.

/ make John study the lesson. Je fais étudier la leçon à Jean.

She had him eat the bread. Elle lui a fait manger le pain.

c. If the infinitive has an object which refers directly back to the subject, the reflexive form of se faire is used in French.

He had his hair cut. Il s'est fait couper les cheveux.

J am having my (a) house built. Je me fais bâtir une maison.

She has had her (a) hat made. Elle s'est fait faire un chapeau.

Note. If the object of the infinitive refers to other than the subject, a prepositional form is used in French.

I am having a house built for my son. Je fais bâtir une maison pour

mon fils.

She had a suit made for him. Elle lui a fait faire un complet.

58. Use of venir {venir à, venir de) + infinitive. — a. Venir

-f infinitive means to come.

II vient voir son père. He is coming to see his father.

b. Venir à + infinitive means to happen.

Si vous venez à le voir. // you happen to see him.

c. Venir de + infinitive means to come from, have just. Note the apparent change of tense.

Je viens de manger la pomme. / have just eaten the apple. Nous venions de le visiter. We had just visited him.