Multiple Causative Suffixes

The double causative is used for marked single causation, disambiguation, or when there is a chain of three participants.

1. Morphological Structure:
When the first causative suffix ends in a vowel + -t (e.g., -ít, -at/-et), the second suffix is -tat/-tet (e.g., tanul → tanít → taníttat). However, if the stem ends in a consonant + -t (such as -szt), the second suffix must be -at/-et (e.g., ébred → ébreszt → ébresztet). The choice between the pairs (-tat vs. -tet, and -at vs. -et) is dictated by vowel harmony: back-vowel verbs take -tat or -at, while front-vowel verbs take -tet or -et.

2. Suffix Stacking Limits:
In Hungarian, causative stacking is effectively capped at two suffixes. While theoretically more could be added, in practice, further repetition becomes increasingly difficult to interpret and is normally replaced by a clause; there is no simple universal two-suffix grammatical ceiling.

3. Coercion and Intensity:
Unlike the single causative, which simply means 'having something done', the double causative is frequently used to express marked single causation, such as coercion ('forcing someone to do something'), permission, or intensity. It does not always imply a literal chain of three people.

4. Lexicalization:
A double causative is sometimes required because the single causative has taken on a specialized, lexicalized meaning. For example, alszik (sleep) becomes altat (put to sleep / anesthetize), so to express 'have someone put to sleep', the double causative altattat is used.

5. Disambiguating from the Past Tense:
Because single causative past forms can be homophonous with plain past tense forms (e.g., megértette can mean 'he understood it' OR 'he made someone understand it'), speakers frequently use the double causative (megértettette) to ensure clarity.

6. The Intermediary (Causer 2):
In a double causative construction, the intermediary (the person who is made to cause the action) typically takes the instrumental-comitative -val/-vel case, though the postposition által (by / by means of) is also frequently used. Case marking depends on the construction and the lexical verb. A useful basic contrast is an accusative causee with an intransitive base versus an instrumental causee with a transitive base; not every complex lexicalized causative follows a mechanical three-person template.

7. Literal Chain of Participants:
In some cases, the double causative can represent a literal chain of three participants: the initiator (Causer 1), the intermediary (Causer 2), and the final doer.

8. The 'Double Instrumental' Phenomenon:
If the root verb is transitive and there is a literal chain of three participants, both the intermediary and the final doer take the instrumental case. For example: A tanárral dolgozatot írattattam a diákokkal. (I had the teacher make the students write a test). Note that having two instrumental phrases can sound stylistically awkward, so speakers often rephrase it to avoid confusion by using the postposition által (e.g., A tanár által...) or a periphrastic construction with verbs like rávesz (persuade) or megkér (ask) plus a subordinate clause.

Keep Only The Necessary Participants: When context identifies the students, omit that participant: Az igazgató a tanárral dolgozatot írattat (The headteacher has the teacher arrange a test). When both teacher and students must be named clearly, use a clause: Az igazgató megkéri a tanárt, hogy írasson dolgozatot a diákokkal (The headteacher asks the teacher to have the students write a test).