[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/causative/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [C](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/c/) / causative

# causative

adjective (causative); noun (a causative — grammar)

«causative» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Causing something, acting as its cause («a causative factor», «the causative virus»). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/causative/#m1)
2. (grammar) A form of a verb or sentence that shows someone makes something happen or has it done, like «I had my hair cut» or «She made him laugh». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/causative/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science and health it names the cause of a disease or effect — «the causative agent». In grammar lessons, «causative» describes patterns with have/get/make/let: «We got the car fixed». It tells the reader who or what makes something happen. It is a formal word.

### Examples

- Scientists found the causative virus of the illness. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/causative/#x1)
- Smoking is a causative factor in many lung diseases. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/causative/#x2)
- "I had my bike repaired" is a causative sentence. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/causative/#x3)
- In the causative, the person doing the work is often not named. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/causative/#x4)
- "Make" is a causative verb in "Mum made me tidy my room". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/causative/#x5)
- The doctor explained the causative link between sugar and tooth decay. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/causative/#x6)
- We practised causatives: "I got my hair cut", "She had her eyes tested". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/causative/#x7)

### Note

Formal word. In grammar: «have/get + thing + past participle» (have it fixed) and «make/let + person + verb» (make him wait). Trap: a cause found together with an effect is not always causative — things can happen together by chance (correlation is not causation).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «causative» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/causative/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«causative» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/causative.html) on Mova free.