Dative causee with transitives

Level 4

In Azerbaijani, the causative voice (icbar növ) indicates that the subject causes someone else to do an action. For transitive verbs (verbs that already have a direct object), the person who is 'made' to do the action is marked with the dative case.

How It Works

The causative voice increases the number of participants in a sentence. When the base verb is transitive (e.g., 'to read', 'to write', 'to eat'), there is already a direct object. To add a 'causer' to this scenario, the original subject (the one doing the reading or writing) shifts into the dative case.

1. Morphological Formation:
The causative is formed using suffixes based on the verb stem:

  • -t: Used after stems ending in a vowel or polysyllabic stems ending in 'r' or 'l' (e.g., oxu-t-maq, otur-t-maq, düzəl-t-mək). Note that monosyllabic stems ending in 'r' usually take -dır (e.g., vur-dur-maq).
  • -dır/-dir/-dur/-dür: The most common suffix, following vowel harmony (e.g., yaz-dır-maq).
  • -ır/-ir/-ur/-ür: Used with specific stems (e.g., iç-ir-mək).
  • -ar/-ər: Used with certain verbs (e.g., çıx-ar-maq).
  • -ız/-iz/-uz/-üz: Used with a few specific verbs (e.g., qorx-uz-maq).

Irregular Causatives: A few common verbs have irregular causative forms, such as görmək (to see) → göstərmək (to show / to make see) and gəlmək (to come) → gətirmək (to bring / to make come).

Note: Azerbaijani allows stacking suffixes to create double causatives (e.g., oxu-t-dur-maq) to indicate multiple layers of causation.

2. The Dative Causee vs. Accusative Contrast:
The choice of case for the causee depends on the transitivity of the base verb:

  • Transitive verbs: Since the accusative case is already occupied by the direct object, the causee takes the dative case (e.g., Mən kitabı ona oxutdum - I made him read the book).
  • Intransitive verbs: If the verb has no direct object, the causee takes the accusative case (e.g., Mən uşağı güldürdüm - I made the child laugh).

Note on Native Grammar: In traditional Azerbaijani linguistics, adding a causative suffix to an intransitive verb (e.g., gülmək -> güldürmək) is classified as Active Voice (Məlum növ) because it represents direct causation. The true Causative Voice (İcbar növ) is strictly reserved for delegated actions involving transitive verbs.

3. Ditransitive Exception:
If the base verb already requires a dative object (like vermək - to give), the causee is usually not marked with the dative case, to avoid a case clash (having two dative objects in one sentence). In these instances, the causee is typically expressed using the postposition vasitəsilə (by means of) or ilə. For example: Mən kitabı Əliyə Aygün vasitəsilə verdirdim (I made Aygün give the book to Ali / I had the book given to Ali through Aygün).

4. Nuance:
This construction is neutral and can mean 'to have someone do' or 'to make someone do' depending on the context.

Examples (4)

  1. Müəllim tələbəyə mətni oxutdu.

    The teacher had the student read the text.

    Word by Word: Teacher student-to text-acc read-causative-past.

    'Oxumaq' (to read) is transitive. The student (tələbə) receives the dative suffix -yə because they are the causee.

  2. Rəhbər katibəyə məktubu yazdırdı.

    The manager had the secretary write the letter.

    Word by Word: Manager secretary-to letter-acc write-causative-past.

    'Yazmaq' (to write) takes the productive -dır suffix. The secretary (katibə) is marked with the dative -yə.

  3. Ana uşağa südü içirtdi.

    The mother made the child drink the milk.

    Word by Word: Mother child-to milk-acc drink-causative-past.

    Here, 'içmək' becomes 'içirtmək' (a double causative form). The child (uşaq) takes the dative -a.

  4. Usta köməkçisinə divarı rənglətdi.

    The foreman had his assistant paint the wall.

    Word by Word: Foreman assistant-his-to wall-acc paint-causative-past.

    'Rəngləmək' ends in a vowel, so it takes the -t causative suffix. The assistant is in the dative case.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the accusative case for the causee of a transitive verb.

    Müəllim tələbəni mətni oxutdu.
    Müəllim tələbəyə mətni oxutdu.

    If the verb is transitive, the accusative slot is already taken by the direct object (mətni). The causee must be in the dative case.

  • Mixing up an imperative with a statement.

    Different MeaningO kitabı yazdır.
    O, kitabı yazdırır.

    'O kitabı yazdır' is a good sentence: 'Have that book written!' (a command, with 'o' meaning 'that'). To say 'He has the book written', put a comma after the subject and conjugate the verb: 'O, kitabı yazdırır.'

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Dative causee with transitivesLevel 4

Learn This First

To understand how to mark the person being made to do an action in a causative construction, you first need to know how to form the causative verb itself. Additionally, you must understand the dative case, which identifies the 'causee' in these transitive structures, and the accusative case to identify the object being acted upon.